How to host a Dragonish Wedding (story the 4th)
by Marty the Martian
Summary: Hiccup and Astrid are back In Elydonia for the wedding of Sigrid the Strong to King Joric the Fifth but, as usual, not much goes as planned because the dragons have made some of the Kings enemies a little upset.
1. Chapter 1

**A few simple characters from the last few stories were just crying out to me for more to be written about their adventures with Hiccup and Astrid so I thought 'Eh... why not? Hope I have not made it too confusing for any first timers to my selfish version of the HTTYD universe but I hope to have lots of adventure and laughs with some romance on the side. Ah... romance (sigh).**

* * *

Act One: Southern Discomfort

Prologue

Generals and Emperors and Kings... oh my!

People such as these have always done their very best to obtain and maintain an advantage over their foes and in many cases, their friends as well. These advantages mostly take the form of high numbers of troops, offensive capabilities and strong defences but there are also great advantages to be had with the right information and so anyone skilled in gathering such information is of immense value to the leader of any nation or army unless that leader feels that such a person... cannot be trusted.

* * *

1 The Bell Are Ringing

Even though Staggshund was a quiet little town, it inhabitants could still make a lot of noise if they wanted as they got on with their daily lives and being a farming community, those lives got started pretty early in the day so Hiccup had resigned himself to the fact that the time for sleep was well and truly over as the sound of a passing hay cart and several chatting Elydonians drifted up through window of his bedroom in the Staggshund Inn. It was a very comfortable little room and the bed was much softer than the ground at the campsite south of New Loren where he and his friends had spent the last several nights trying and failing to relax.

Almost anything that could go wrong, did go wrong on that little trip; firstly the Dragon Riders were forced to stop in New Loren (which they had been warned not to do by their friend King Joric) because of a stowaway hiding in Astrids gear pack and then Snotlout had started to get all defensive whenever anyone tried to talk with him. An injured Hobblegrunt and a group of Animal Trappers just added to the trouble before things were finally topped off on the flight back to Elydonia by an encounter with a professional spy (who turned out to be much nicer than Hiccup would have thought under the circumstances) but he was still glad to be back in a place that, although it wasn't home, was still very welcoming and safe.

The town of Staggshund lie to the east of Bolthorn Castle where the current king, Joric the Fifth held the throne. It was good for the Berkians to have an ally in power after the previous king and his son had attempted to annex Berk and the surrounding islands, kidnap Astrid and Sigrid as well as execute Hiccup and Snotlout for good measure.

"Good morning."

"WAAH!" Hiccup jumped back in surprise and fell off the bed.

"ASTRID! What the... how long have you been sitting there?" He tried desperately to get his heart rate and his breathing back to normal as the light of his life smirked at him.

"Oh... about ten minutes; you're so cute when you're asleep. I thought you'd be used to my sudden appearances by now."

"I am" he protested "but only when I'm conscious."

"Well I hope you're not gonna react to my presence that way when we're married."

"I do believe most strongly that my reactions to you when we are married will be very different indeed" Hiccup grinned as he crawled back up onto the bed to give Astrid her first kiss of the day.

"Hmm... morning breath" she noted.

"Get used to it" he grinned.

"Sigrid is here" Astrid informed him.

"Already? I didn't think she'd arrive till much later."

"It's Skywolf; she says that he misses being with other dragons" Astrid explained.

"Hmm... that may be a problem when we go home to Berk."

"Don't worry about it too much babe; we've got a few days to work it all out so get your butt moving and come down to breakfast."

"Oh... you've made breakfast?"

"Of course not silly; Wally the Innkeeper did."

Hiccup sighed with relief as Astrid shut the door behind her. He loved her dearly and her cooking was pretty good but he did prefer his meals not to consist of 97% eggs which were Astrids culinary specialty. He poured some cold water into the bowl near the window and splashed his face even though he already felt very awake after his morning shock. It was good to be clean again after last night's bath even though water was only lukewarm because Staggshund didn't have dragon powered water heating like Berk. After Hiccup finally managed to get his hair to sit reasonably flat, he made his was downstairs to find Astrid sitting with Sigrid the Strong in the dining room enjoying a wonderful cooked breakfast.

"Oh come on" Hiccup sighed when he saw that, unlike everyone else, his plate consisted of nothing but a fried egg on toast... with some scrambled eggs... and a poached egg; not to mention on the side... a boiled egg.

"WHY?" was all he could come up with.

"Sorry Hiccup" Astrid grinned sheepishly "when Wally asked what he should cook for you, I think I may have put too much emphasis on how much you like eggs but don't worry; I'm sure they're every bit as good as mine."

"Okay... yes you do have a way with the ol' chicken fruit but variety is nice too."

"Stop yer whining" Sigrid remarked as she stuffed her face with some bacon and fried tomato "if you were on a ship it would be fish, fish and more fish; and you know what the pickled herring does to Gobbers tummy."

"Only too well" he replied taking his seat.

The last three Berkians in town enjoyed their breakfast in relative silence for a few minutes as the world started up again outside in the morning light. Hiccup and Astrid had been back in Elydonia for a few days so that meant that Snotlout, Fishlegs and the twins would be home by now with six new Hobblegrunts to join, what some Viking laughingly called, the Flocks of Berk. Hiccup was sure that his father would be very pleased because Stoick liked his dragons the same way that Hiccup liked his breakfast; with variety.

"Astrid tells me that you're having some dragon trouble in Bolthorn Castle" Hiccup remarked as he put far too much salt on his scrambled eggs.

"Yeah... Skywolf is not having the best time there and if things don't improve soon, then I may have to send him back to Berk with you after the wedding."

Sigrid was certainly looking forward to her upcoming nuptials but the marriage between one of Berks finest warriors and King Joric the Fifth of Bolthorn had brought forth a few unforseen problems but none was more serious for the bride than the fact that she may have to give up her beloved dragon.

"So what exactly is the problem?" Hiccup asked.

"The problem is, my dear Hiccup, that I can't spend enough time with him; he can't follow me around the castle like he would if he were on Berk and he can't go and find other friends to be with so he spends most of his time stuck in the stables where the horses are terrified of him and the stable hands don't know what to do with him" Sigrid sighed.

"And that was why you came here so early this morning" Astrid understood exactly what it felt like when your loved ones was suffering.

"He had a bad night" Sigrid continued "so I stayed in the stable with him and we left as soon as the sky turned from black to grey. I'm not even sure if Joric knows that we're gone yet but I had to get my poor boy back here as soon as I could so he could have some fun with Toothless and Stormfly; the people here are much better with dragons as well."

"That's only because they've had more time to get used to them but the people in the castle will too... eventually" Astrid smiled as she reached over and squeezed Sigrids hand "and I'm sure Joric has noticed that you're gone."

* * *

Joric had not impressed the Dragon Riders very much during their first encounter back when he was only the captain of a ship; he had been sent by the previous king of Elydonia to escort Prince Nainn and annex the islands of the Berk archipelago but he had later proved himself to be a man of compromise who was willing to do whatever it took to protect the lives of his crew and the ordinary people of his land (unlike King Rekkur who would gladly sacrifice anyone in battle just to protect and increase his own wealth and power).

When Rekkurs son had kidnapped Astrid and Sigrid, it was Captain Joric who had first noticed that these were not the frail women that they pretended to be; He could see that these two had managed to lull their captors into a false sense of superiority and he was sure that they would soon escape. It was when Joric had approached the warriors, both to offer his help as well as to ask for theirs, that Sigrid had begun to see him in a very different light and after their escape plan had succeeded, she found that she could not get the memory of him out of her mind.

From that moment on, whenever they had been near to each other, there was always something; a look, a smile, whether they were making plans with the Dragon Riders, just passing in the street or going into battle, these two simply could not keep their eyes off each other and so when it came time for Stoick to lead his people back home, Sigrid was determined to be the last to go just so she could spend one more minute with Joric before she had to leave. Joric however had other plans and so as the Dragon Riders made final their preparations to depart, he gently took her hand and lead her away from the others.

"I'm sorry for making your last minutes in Elydonia so awkward, but I have something that I must say to you before you go."

Sigrid did not feel awkward but she did have a very strong feeling that after Joric had said his piece, she would find it even harder to simply get onto Skywolf's back and leave for home without crying.

'Dammit' she thought 'now I do feel awkward.' Sigrid knew what he was going to say; he was going to tell her how special she was, how much he was going to miss her and that he would never forget her smile... but she was wrong.

"I don't want you to go" Joric pleaded "please stay... and be my wife; Sigrid... will you marry me?"

Stoick had roared with delight when they had told him the good news and he even started making plans for the wedding.

"We'll all fly back next spring and I'll give the bride away and..."

"HOLD ON CHIEF" Sigrid stopped him "I'm not going back to Berk with you now... and the wedding will be in a few weeks."

"Ah... well... yes" he grabbed the king in a bit bear hug "congratulations Joric; you're not only getting yourself a beautiful wife and a mighty warrior but Sigrid is also the person that I always turn to when I need something done right so it only stand to reason that she'd make the perfect Queen even though she still hasn't turned thirty."

"QUEEN?" Sigrid almost fell over "Oh no no no no no; I'm not going to be the Queen."

"You're marrying the King my darling" Joric smiled "of course you're going to be the Queen."

"I feel sick" Sigrid turned very green and sat down on the ground.

"I must go and tell Hiccup" Stoick declared when he had finally stopped laughing "He's not going back to Berk yet and so as the future chief of Berk, he can have the honour of giving you away."

"Please tell me that you're still going to marry me" Joric smiled as Stoick rushed off.

"queen... queen..." was all Sigrid could say as she hugged her knees and rocked back and forth.

* * *

**I wonder how many chapters this story will end up being? I have plans for twenty so it may end up with over forty. Next post should be up next week (even though I have to go back to work soon) so have fun and drop me a line or two. Marty &amp; Moon (purr) =^..^=**


	2. Chapter 2

2 Royal Privileges

or Rock-a-Bye Monstrous Nightmare

"Good morning Your Majesty" yet another member of the public greeted Sigrid as she wandered along with Hiccup to the western side of the town.

"Hello" she replied "but I'm not Queen yet."

"Close enough Your Majesty" he answered back.

"I suppose I'll get used to it someday" she sighed "but I wish everyone would just call me Sigrid."

"Different country means different rules" Hiccup noted "even rules of etiquette."

"I suppose so" she resigned herself "but I've been told that I can't even call Joric, Joric when we're in public; now that's annoying."

"He's a good man though so I suppose it's worth all the trouble."

"I'm a lucky girl alright" she smiled.

"He's a lucky guy... I mean... King" Hiccup pointed out.

* * *

The empire of New Loren lay to the south of Elydonia and the people who ruled there, from the Emperor at the top, right through all the senators and generals in the middle, down to the local councillors at the bottom of this hierarchical tree had all honed their paranoia to such a fine edge, that you could have shaved a Mammoth with it... if you could find one. Every single last one of them was trying to put a knife deep into the back of anyone above them who stood in the way of their advancement or into anyone sneaking up from below; mostly it would be a political knife but occasionally it was a literal one.

In order to keep themselves safe from such knives (and to give them a good idea as to the best direction in which to thrust their own blades) the Noblemen and women of New Loren would employ a network of informants to help them keep abreast of what their enemies, as well as their so called friends, were up to at any given time. One such general had always considered himself to be very fortunate to have on his payroll a certain semi-retired master spy who had been invaluable to the Emperor and his predecessors during the many wars and skirmishes that had taken place over the past forty odd years and although nobody knew this spies real name or where he was, the general was able to keep in communication with him through letters that would arrive hand delivered by messenger but only when the master spy had something of importance to report.

The last report that the general had received from this man, really did turn out to be the last report that he ever would receive from him and it read:

'Five strange flying creatures spotted moving south near Krundon. I believe they may have come from Elydonia or further north. They were observed landing on the top of Baldcrest Hill where they remained for over an hour before departing and resuming their course south. Surprised to see that they appeared to be carrying riders - Investigation continuing.'

The existence of men on flying beasts was truly disturbing whether they were from Elydonia or not; and so the general had awaited the next report impatiently for more than a week but when it finally arrived, what it contained disturbed him greatly.

'The Master has not returned from his investigation of the flying creatures and their riders and he is assumed to be missing permanently. As I was awaiting his return as per his orders, I observed a large blue flame rise up from the top of Baldcrest Hill. Further investigation revealed nothing to make me suspect that these creatures or their riders had caused any harm to the Master or to anyone else in the area but I will continue to seek out more information about the whole situation. As the Masters former apprentice I have assumed his role and will continue to keep you informed about this matter and will also investigate anything of importance that occurs throughout the land if you so desire. Please convey to me your wishes at your earliest convenience. _F _'

The General looked up from the letter and sighed. It would have been terrible news if the Master spy known to him only as _D _had passed away, but to find out that he was still alive and had disappeared was an absolute disaster. Where was he now and what was he doing; and even worse... who was he working for?

* * *

Three dragons looped and spun overhead as Sigrid placed a small bouquet of flowers at the foot of the grave.

"Are you okay Hiccup?" she asked "it can't be easy to have lost someone in battle."

"I don't think I'll ever fully get over it... but Ivar did give his life protecting others and we did succeed, so it was no wasted effort."

Sigrid looked up at her dragon as he flew joyfully overhead.

"I can't take him back to Bolthorn... not now... he's looks way to happy now that he's out of there."

"He can stay here with Stormfly for a day or two while we try and work out what's best thing to do for him" Hiccup pondered "I'm sure Skywolf will be fine back on Berk but he will miss you."

"And I'll miss him but I can't be selfish when his wellbeing is at stake."

Hiccup and Sigrid walked back into town just as Toothless flashed overhead with Skywolf and Stormfly hot on his tail. Astrid brought him into land in the town square where she dropped to her feet and wandered over to Skywolf who panted happily after the boisterous workout.

"Feeling better m'boy?" she scratched his chin and kissed his snout.

"He's certainly looks better" Sigrid smiled.

"If it's okay with you Astrid, I'd like to leave Stormfly here with Skywolf while we're at the castle so he can have a break from the Royal Stables for a day or two" Hiccup asked.

"No problem babe; I can look after them while you see to wedding business."

"Actually, I have a job for you to do in Bolthorn."

"Listen Hiccup; it's true that the people here do love the dragons but they don't know how to take care of them so someone will have to stay" Astrid was adamant.

"Then we'll have to get a sitter" Hiccup grinned.

* * *

The footprints were about four or five days old but the weather had been mild and so Darius Gershwin had no trouble in determining that the creatures that had made them were the same ones that he had encountered back on Baldcrest Hill; they were also the same as the prints he had discovered on the road several miles outside of a small fishing village in the south of New Loren as well as in the quarry nearby. The remains of the campsites that the prints lead him to only confirmed his suspicions that he had at last found the place he was searching for; the southernmost destination of the Dragon Riders.

As a former spy he could not help but have doubts about these young people because, although they had seemed harmless (as harmless as someone could be when riding on a fire breathing dragon), he would have been a fool to simply accept them at face value without fully investigating to see if their innocent story bore any truth but now as he perused the area his suspicions began to wane and he decided that the time had come for him to track them back towards their home.

"I wish Fotherington was with me now" he said to himself "it would have been good to hear his insight on all this."

As he turned to leave something caught his eye and he cursed himself for not noticing it sooner.

"I can't believe I almost missed you" he said to the javelin that had been tossed away in the bushes.

As he studied it, he learned that it had not come from New Loren or one of its bordering enemies; it was of a design favoured by the kind of men who would try their best to capture strange, exotic animals and birds for the private zoos or dining tables of the very rich and powerful.

"It looks to me like you went after the wrong prey this time" he spoke to the poachers through their abandoned weapon.

* * *

Toothless set down on top of what the guards now affectionately called 'Incontinentia Tower' but was actually the Bolthorn Palace Watchtower; the men there surprised Hiccup and Astrid as they actually saluted the two of them.

"Good luck" Hiccup kissed Astrids cheek as she dropped down "Sigrid and I will be back if a few hours."

"I'll see what I can do by then" she smiled and waved as Toothless took off once again.

"Good morning Lady Astrid" the Guard Captain greeted her "how can we help you today?"

"I'd like to see the stables please" she replied.

"Certainly; if you will please follow me."

The guard pulled open the trapdoor in the floor of the watchtower and lead Astrid down the stairs. As they passed through the small door that lead into the upper floors of the palace, the two guards posted there, snapped to attention.

"Please inform Lord Sigfus of Lady Astrid's arrival and also that she will be inspecting the stables."

"SIR" one of the men saluted and hurried off.

'Lady Astrid' she smiled to herself 'I love this place.'

After following the Guard Captain for a long ten minutes out of the palace and across the courtyard, she finally arrived at stable. It stood near the western portcullis of the castle where the Royal Horse Guards could easily gain access to the countryside without having to ride through the town.

"If would like to wait here Miss, I will find you a guide."

"Thank you but no; I'll be fine."

"Very good; I shall await you here."

"That's not necessary; I can find my way about."

"Very good" he saluted once more and left.

"It's no wonder Sigrid is finding it hard to get used to this place" Astrid sighed.

* * *

Hiccup flew an indirect course back to Staggshund so that he could run a little errand on the way back. He arrived to find Sigrid and Wally the innkeeper chatting with a few other townsfolk on the front porch of the inn while Stormfly and Skywolf slept peacefully in the street out front although both the dragons became fully alert when they heard Toothless roar a herald of his arrival.

"TOOTHLESS; DON'T YOU BREAK ANYTHING" Hiccup called out as the three dragons romped off to play.

"Sigrid" he greeted "I would like you to meet a person with some of the best dragon riding experience in all of Elydonia; Dianta, I present to you Sigrid, your future queen."

"Oh don't you start" Sigrid sighed.

"While Skywolf has Stormfly for company during his stay in Staggshund" Hiccup explained "Dianta will take care of them both while we are away in Bolthorn."

"Wonderful" Sigrid declared "do you have any experience with Nightmares Dianta?

"Well I do have the occasional bad dream..." she began.

"No dear, the dragon; the Monstrous Nightmare."

"Oh like Hookfang" Dianta grinned.

"Yes but I think you'll find that Skywolf is much better trained."

"I'll do my best Your Majesty."

"Sigrid... Please" she implored though gritted teeth.

* * *

The General finished off his note to the man known only to him as F and sealed it carefully before handing it over to the officer at his side.

"I want you to have the boy who delivers these letters followed. I never felt the need to find out about the mysterious D but now that he has disappeared, I believe it behoves me to discover exactly who this F is."

"I wonder why he calls himself F" the officer noted "surely E comes after D."

"I see that our Military Academy is still turning out the best and brightest" the General sighed.

"Thank you sir" his subordinate grinned.

* * *

**As Moon rubs his face on my shoe and begs for more food to be put in his bowl before I retire to bed, I consider how much time I will be able to devote to writing this week. Answer: Not much as I have to take some Agricultural Students on a country trip this week but I will try to have the next chapter up by next weekend.**

**TTFN, Marty.**


	3. Chapter 3

3 So Long Astrid Lloyd Wright

"So where did you find this find this handy, off the shelf Dragon Sitter at such short notice?" Sigrid asked Hiccup as they rose up from Staggshund.

"Well this is a short trip so I'll give the short story; her dad was one of the two prisoners we took when Rekkur, the last king of Elydonia invaded our islands.

"Oh... is she Hak's daughter?"

"You had a fifty percent chance there and you still got it wrong" Hiccup smiled.

"Well Hak is the only one who hangs around the castle" Sigrid explained "he wants to be appointed the Elydonian Ambassador to Berk but they keep telling him that it is to high an office for a sailor."

Hiccup could not help but laugh at the way fate had dealt with his friends; Hak had been desperate to return to Berk after the Elydonian civil war but his family did not want to go and he was still officially in the navy anyhow. Gauk, the other former prisoner, was pleased to be able to stay home even though his two children had both wanted to go to Berk and join the Dragon Riders.

"It's almost as if each man had the wrong kids" Sigrid remarked when Hiccup explained it to her.

"You can't mix and match with families" Hiccup noted "and it's just as well too or else dad may have swapped me for Snotlout a few years ago."

"He would not" Sigrid flicked her finger on the back of Hiccups head.

* * *

Considering what went on there, the stable in Bolthorn castle was a surprisingly clean place thanks to the eight boys and young men that rushed about cleaning stalls, brushing mounts and assisting the horsemen. Astrid watched with interest as one of the younger boys worked furiously cleaning a leather saddle while being berated by a tall youth in a green satin shirt.

"...and if I'm not satisfied this time you go on dragon duty for a week" the tall boy had sneered.

Astrid sighed and shook her head as she walked on down the centre run past the box stalls looking for the place that Skywolf had called home for the last several days. She eventually found what she was looking for near the end of the building where the side walls of three stalls had been removed to create a larger floor space for a much bigger animal. There could be no doubt as to what kind of animal was housed there because the entire area was covered with scorch marks.

"Hey there gorgeous" the tall young man approached Astrid and slipped one arm around her waist "my names Tor; and who might you be?"

Tor was the senior stable boy; eighteen, handsome (and he knew it) and as confident as Snotlout. Needless to say he had made the most terrible first impression on Astrid who grabbed his middle finger and bent it backwards to almost breaking point until he screamed in pain drawing the full attention of his nearby subordinates.

"Why you little..." he drew back his arm to backhand Astrid across the face but before he could strike, her left fist popped his nose hard and he fell backward in complete surprise.

The older boys laughed uncontrollably while the younger ones did not dare as Tor rose to his feet and stared in disgust at the blood in his hands.

"THUT UP YOU WORMTH" he screamed at them just as one of the horsemen rushed in to see what all the commotion was about.

"Be quiet you boys" he ordered "Tor; what's happened to your face?"

"It'th dith gurl thir" he tried to enunciate "fthee hih me thir."

"What girl you idiot?"

Tor looked around only to find Astrid gone; he rushed about for a few seconds before spotting her over by the castle wall.

"Dair thir... outthide thah bach doha."

"Go and get cleaned up you moron" the horseman strode past Tor and out the large back double doors of the stables.

"Can I help you with anything miss?" he asked the young lady staring at the western side of the castle.

"You're gonna have to take out a large section of this wall north of the portcullis" she informed the startled man.

"We can't do that" he said before he realised what he saying "that would create a weakness that an enemy could exploit."

"But this is the perfect spot" Astrid pointed out "away from the town, on the opposite side to the harbour so it won't be vulnerable to a naval attack and you would have an excellent view all the way to the forest so it's not as if anyone could sneak up on you; plus it's right on top of the stable anyway."

"But why take out a section of wall so close to the... what am I saying? WHO ARE YOU?" he demanded.

"Oh sorry... I'm here to sort out your dragon problem" she smiled sweetly.

"By assaulting the stableboys?" he accused her "and we don't have a dragon problem."

"Hey! He shouldn't have gotten so handsy" she fumed "and you do have a dragon problem."

"Rubbish; that ungrateful beast has three stalls all to himself and..."

"and the whole place is a fire trap and you treat him like dirt! Those boys don't look after Skywolf properly, and that fresh fool in there was using him as a way of punishing the others; HAVING THAT DRAGON HERE IS A PRIVILEGE."

"Well we don't see it that way" the man steamed."

"And that is exactly where your problem lies... now then, you don't have to remove the wall at ground level in fact it would be better about fifteen to twenty feet up at least..."

"WE ARE NOT REMOVING THE WALL..." he took a deep breath and caught his temper "...and you are coming with me."

"Where are we going?" Astrid asked.

"You are leaving and I am getting back to work" he demanded.

"Ummmmm... no" Astrid declared "you can get back to whatever it was you were doing if you wish but have to..."

"ASTRID!" a happy voice called from across the courtyard.

When Astrid turned, she saw two well dressed people exiting the stable behind her.

"KYLAN" Astrid cried out as they rushed into each other's arms.

"The palace guards told us you'd arrived; I know it hasn't even been a week since you left but I've missed you so much" Kylan declared.

"Wait a minute; WHO ARE YOU?" the increasingly frustrated horseman queried Kylan.

"I told you that you should get out of the palace more" came another voice from near the stable door.

"Hello Sigfus" Astrid greeted "I'll bet you've been enjoying yourself giving out all the orders around the castle."

"Hmmm... yes" declared King Jorics right hand man.

"Lord Sigfus" the horseman sprang to attention "is this girl a friend of yours sir?"

"This 'Girl' as you call her is Lady Astrid of Berk..."

"I love that title" Astrid said aside to Kylan.

"...and she has been sent here by His Majesty to get this place sorted out for the Queens dragon and unless the King says otherwise, her orders in this matter carry the same weight as his."

"Understood Sir" the horseman saluted.

"I'm not surprised that you didn't recognise the other lady though" Sigfus continued "Kylan's been holed up in the palace ever since the Dragon Riders left Staggshund."

"Staggshund?" the horseman now looked more confused "are you 'That' Kylan; the one who's shooting started the first main battle of the war?"

"Do you want to see the scar?" Kylan asked him.

"But... you're a man."

"I was... but not anymore."

"But how could you..."

The horseman's confusion was one of the reasons why Kylan had not left the palace very much in the last week. Because she had spent all of her adult life hiding the fact that she was a woman, it had now become very difficult for her get people to believe that she was who she claimed to be.

"Listen closely because it's very simple; I wasn't a man, I just pretended to be one for my entire adult life until Olvor the Viking Doctor found out the truth about me after I was shot with a crossbow bolt. After that, I decided to come clean and tell everyone that I was a woman... and before you ask, I pretended to be a man because nobody here would take my abilities seriously unless they thought I was a man."

"Guilty as charged" Sigfus admitted.

"Wait till the men in the barracks hear about this" the horseman sighed "you're a bit of hero to them after the Staggshund battle because... well... most of us fought on the other side; the side of King Rekkur and when you came out and stood against us totally unarmed and tried to stop the battle from ever starting, well that was one of the bravest things we'd ever witnessed."

"Thank you; does the fact that I'm a woman change anything at all?"

"I... err... I don't know ma'am; I guess it shouldn't but it's... it's all such a surprise."

"Well you go away and think about it and I'll be interested to hear what the men in the barracks say when you tell them.

"Yes ma'am" he saluted again and marched off.

As the horseman strode back through the stables, he noticed some of the stableboys standing with Tor who was still holding his nose with a handkerchief.

"Haven't you boys got any work to do?" he snarled and they all ran off.

"Did you thort dat gurl out thir?" Tor asked.

The horseman looked at Tor (nose to broken nose) and snarled even more.

"If I hear anything more about you getting fresh with Lady Astrid, I'LL SEE TO IT THAT YOU SPEND THE NEXT YEAR ON DRAG..." he stopped as he realised what he was about to say.

The horseman looked back outside to see Astrid gesturing to the upper wall and explaining her plan to Lord Sigfus and Lord Kylan... Lady Kylan (this was going to take a lot of getting used to) but perhaps the young girls ideas would make life easier for all of them - as well as keeping the stable from burning down.

* * *

While all these events unfolded in Elydonia, down south in capital of New Loren the scruffy young boy wandered out of the city and into the country side bound for the town of Krundon followed at a distance by the general's men. He was carrying nothing more than a small leather satchel slung over his shoulder containing some oat cookies and a letter for his new master. He had recently begun full time training in the art of espionage and although he had long known that the start of his apprenticeship would eventually come, it had been a long five year wait and he was pleased that this time was now over.

His mother had named him Victor, (after the father that he would never know because of a knife fight at a local tavern) but almost nobody would ever call him that. His mother had died long before the time of his earliest memories and so he had spent most of early life in a foul smelling, disease ridden orphanage where he had the good fortune not to die as many of the other inhabitants had done. A month after his fifth birthday a man had come to his home (for want of a better word for it) accompanied by a lad in his late teens. The boys in the home gathered and watched this man as he had spoken to the matron for a short time before being shown to a private room next to her office. The strange man then waited while the matron fetched one of the young boys who was taken to meet with him. Nobody ever came to adopt a child from this place but it was a source of child workers for the area. A lucky boy may end up learning a trade and the very lucky became servants in a rich household but for most it meant a hard life doing work that was both dull and difficult (and many times dangerous).

As Victor and his friends watched from down the corridor, the man spoke softly to the child in front of him before he simply stood up and left.

"What happened?" one of the others asked when the boy came out.

"I dunno" he answered "sumfing about danger and work; I was glad when he didn't stay."

The boy could not offer much in the way of insight and Victor wondered about the odd happenings as he lay in his bed that night. The people who came to the home for a child would usually just look them over and take the one they wanted and none of the others would ever know what awaited their departed friend.

The following afternoon the man and his companion returned and were shown back into the room before the matron went in search of another boy. Some just hung around as they always did while others ran and hid in fear but Victor was curious and so he quickly put himself in an obvious position where he would be easily seen.

"Come here boy" said the matron who never bothered to learn anyone's name "you come with me."

She led him into the room and sat him in a chair opposite the strange man who looked him up and down.

"I am a man with many skills" he said "and these are the kind of skills that will put you in great danger and yet will also keep you safe. If you will come with me, I will see to it that you are fed and housed and in return I expect you to work for me and do as you are told while you learn the skills that my apprentice and I will teach you" and with that said, he simply stood up and walked out.

Victor thought about what the man had just told him and of how the other boy was pleased to see him go; he soon realised that tomorrow the offer would be made to someone else and so without looking back, Victor ran out into the street after the man but he was nowhere to be seen. He closed his eyes and cursed himself for being so slow when he heard a horse drawn carriage move off down the street and around the corner and so he ran in that direction as fast as he could. He rounded the corner just in time to see the carriage disappear around a bend in the street ahead. Victor ran and ran up the stone covered street until he could at last see the back of the carriage drawing nearer to him but when he got to within a few feet of the rear step, the driver pulled into the main street and brought the horses up to a trot. All Victor could see now was his chance to get out of the horrid orphanage slowly getting further and further away from him with every step he took; his mind told him to give up and his lungs screamed in agreement but his eyes had seen too much sickness and death behind him and so he ran on determined to keep going until he caught up with the carriage or dropped dead in the street.

With the carriage picking up speed and his legs starting to burn it looked like his chance had been squandered when a procession of soldiers came marching down the street towards him. The carriage was forced to stop while the armed men passed by and so Victor was able to finally catch up but as he threw himself onto the rear step the horses started up again so he hung on as tightly as he could while the carriage continued on its journey.

"It appears that we have found your assistant Fotherington" the man declared to the youth seated beside him.

* * *

**Only a few more days of country trips and then I hope to write a little more each day.**

**Bye for now, Marty and Moon.**


	4. Chapter 4

4 Battle Plans

Toothless snored peacefully while curled up on the soft rug in front of the fireplace. The Kings private library was adjacent to his rooms and was a wonderful place to relax at the end of a long day.

"You spoil that dragon" Astrid noted.

"You're just jealous because Stormfly is back in Staggshund" Hiccup replied as Astrid playfully poked her tongue out at him.

"Stormfly, that's the tall blue one with the tail spikes; right?" Boron pondered as he contemplated his almost empty brandy glass.

"You mean the 'Beautiful' tall blue one with the tail spikes" Astrid corrected the former king just as the library door creaked open.

"Sorry to leave you all for so long" King Joric apologised as he strode in flanked by Sigfus and Kylan "I just received a report about strange goings on in New Loren and I'm afraid it's about you two and your dragon friends."

"Darius" Hiccup and Astrid said simultaneously as they looked guiltily at each other.

"Who?" Sigrid was the first to ask.

"Darius Gershwin" Hiccup informed them all "he's a spy we met in New Loren."

"Semi-retired" Astrid added.

"You met a spy in New Loren, wait a minute... you WENT TO NEW LOREN?" Joric fumed.

"It wasn't on purpose" Astrid pleaded.

"YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO JUST FLY OVER IT! YOU TOLD ME THAT YOU COULD FLY SO HIGH UP THAT NOBODY WOULD KNOW THAT YOU WERE THERE AND NOW YOU TELL ME THAT YOU LANDED THERE AND MET A SPY?"

"Joric can roar almost as loud as Stoick" Astrid noted.

"Now calm down Joric" Sigrid smiled "and let's just get the full story before we jump to conclusions."

King Joric was beside himself but fortunately so was Sigrid and as he looked into her eyes, his blood pressure started to slowly go back down.

"Alright then... tell us what happened down there."

"It happened like this" Hiccup began "we followed your directions south over Port Yoric and much later over the castle that you told us about, but about half an hour later Stormfly started having some trouble keeping up with the other dragons and so we had to find a place to set down even though we were still in New Loren."

"Hiccup found a spot on a high, steeply sloped hill far away from any town" Astrid continued "and so we set down there for a break and we were sure that no one had seen us... but... someone did."

"We had to lighten Stormfly's pack and so I hid a satchel with some of our heavier gear in it and when Astrid and I went back a few days later to pick it up again... we err... also found this semi-retired spy hiding in the bushes."

"Oh this is just wonderful" Joric sank into a chair with his head in his hands "the rulers of New Loren are so paranoid, that this could start a war with Elydonia."

"We didn't tell him where we were from" Astrid informed them "and we departed to the east so he wouldn't know that we were coming here."

"You see Joric" Sigrid interjected "even when things go wrong, these two keep cool heads and do their best."

"I'm sorry for losing my temper everyone" Joric sighed "I just don't want to see Elydonia plunged into war with New Loren anytime soon... or ever for that matter."

"And that's just one of the reasons why I'm marrying you" Sigrid kissed his forehead.

"I suppose we'd better tell you the rest too" Hiccup admitted.

"There's more?" Joric looked up worried.

"Yup... and some of it's not good."

* * *

The radiating heat of the camp fire felt wonderful to young Victor. The evening air was crisp and so he made the most of the warmth while he could because he would not be sitting there very long. As an assistant to the apprentice of the master spy, he had already been taught many things in the last five years and one of the most important of these, was how to know when you were being followed. Since the men were rather sloppy in their task, Victor had noticed their presence very early in his journey and so rather than go south and straight home, Victor had taken an easterly side track and set up camp for the night to lead his trackers on the wrong path. He had built the fire and made it appear that he had settled down for the night to lull the men on his trail into dropping their guard.

Six years ago, when he had first arrived in the town of Krundon, still gripping the back step of the master's carriage, Victor had just begun what turned out to be a lifelong journey.

"What is your name?" was the first thing that his master had asked him upon discovering that the boy had succeeded in following the two men home.

"Victor sir."

"Congratulations Victor" the older man smiled "you have just made your first error; never tell anyone your real name... in fact you should avoid giving any name if it can be avoided."

The first year in the master's house was a wonderful time for Victor for even though he spent most of his time doing very mundane things like cleaning and helping in the kitchen, he was also learning much about the basics of the masters craft but it was the following five years as the apprentices assistant and message delivery boy where he learned many of the skills that enabled him to make his escape from the men who were attempting to follow him home. He knew it was only a matter of time before they discovered that they had been fooled but he was very sure that it would not be until the next morning before they discovered that they had just spent the night watching a wooden stump with a rock on top, covered with a dark brown coat. Sometimes it was just too easy thought Victor as he continued on his way south.

* * *

"I suppose you only did what you had to do" King Joric sighed.

The tale that Hiccup and Astrid had just told, left everyone a little stunned. Joric had assumed that there could be nothing worse than to hear that an espionage agent from across the southern border had discovered allies of the Elydonian Kings in New Loren, because that would constitute an invasion, but then to find out that the Dragon Riders had engaged in a little spying themselves before fighting a pitched battle against a group of animal trappers had almost left him speechless.

"Nobody knows that we are your allies" Hiccup pointed out "so we shouldn't have any trouble."

"We can never be sure about that" Sigfus informed him "the way we found out about all this was from one of the New Loren border guards who is not above selling us some information in order to supplement his meagre income. You may have departed to the east but you were first seen coming in from the north; straight from Elydonia. I understand that this Darius told you that he was not going to send any more information about you to his employer; is that right?"

"Yes; he was fascinated by the dragons and I think he plans to try and find out more about them... out of his own curiosity" Astrid informed them.

"Can you believe him though?" Joric asked suspiciously.

"The weird thing is" Hiccup noted "although I don't fully trust him, I do believe him... mostly."

"That raises another point" Kylan chimed in "if Darius sent his message the first time he saw you, it would note that you came from the north. But if he told you the truth about not sending another, then nobody but Darius himself would be aware that you departed to the east and so the eyes of New Loren's Emperor would still be pointed here."

"...oh crap" Joric exclaimed.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes just pondering the problem.

"I suppose the worst thing about all this is not knowing who knows what and what they might do or when they may do it" Hiccup spoke at last.

"Can you run that by me again?" Sigrid asked confused.

"Err... no I don't think I can; it was hard enough the first time."

"Well then" Astrid stood up with a determined look on her face "we'll just have to go back and find out."

"WHAT!" Joric exclaimed "YOU CAN'T GO BACK."

"Why not?"

Joric was so surprised to hear this last comment, that it took him a few seconds to realise that it had not come from one of the Dragon Riders, but from Kylan - one of his own people.

"Are you serious?" King Joric fumed "if they go back..."

"Then they may be able to find out what we need to know... as well as mislead the people there into thinking that they did NOT come from here" Kylan dared to interrupt.

"I was surprised at the idea too Your Majesty" Sigfus admitted "but she makes a very valid point and I do believe it would be a bad idea to just stay here with our heads in the sand hoping for the best."

"This is just too much" Joric sighed "let me sleep on it and we'll discuss it some more over breakfast."

* * *

Fotherington sat in the front room with the window ajar and the house in almost total darkness. The only light present was the soft glow that emitted from the fireplace in the parlour. He was very concerned that Victor had not yet returned from the capital with a reply from the General and he suspected that young boy may have been seized because of the master's disappearance. Fotherington had done his best to word his report in such a way as to placate the General so he would accept that the master had simply gone off to retire, just as he had often said that he would. It was becoming clear though, that the paranoia that New Loren was famous for had reared its ugly head once more. The question that was now foremost in Fotherington's mind was, should he try and find the boy, or was it too late and should he flee for his life? Fortunately for him, the sound of the back door from the kitchen heralded the boys return; Fotherington knew it was Victor because the door was locked and only the houses three residences knew how release the secret bolts.

"I assume you ran into trouble?" he asked the boy.

"Yes sir" he replied "I was followed but I shook them off with the false camp manoeuvre."

"Successfully?"

"I believe so sir."

"Hmmmm... we'd better not risk it so pack the cart whilst I arm the traps; we may not be able to return."

"Understood sir" Victor ran off to complete his task.

* * *

King Joric made sure that he left orders with the kitchen staff for an early breakfast to be prepared for him, his advisors and his friends from Berk before he retired for the night, so he was pleased with the aroma of a wonderful repast as he approached the royal dining room early the next day but he was surprised to find that the Vikings had started without him.

"Good morning dear" Sigrid greeted him with a smile "your cooks are truly amazing."

"I'll say" Hiccup agreed as he dispatched the contents of his plate that contained not a single egg dish.

"I didn't expect to see this" Joric noted.

"Well we wanted to get an early start" Sigrid informed him.

"That's right" Astrid added "Hiccup and Sigrid have to go and pick up the dragons and drop Dianta home before they can come and pick me up so we thought that we'd better not take our time."

"When you say 'Pick you up', what then?"

"Then we leave for New Loren dear."

"But I can't go to New Loren" Joric declared.

"Not you dear, us" Sigrid indicated the Dragon Riders.

"But I said last night that we would discuss this over breakfast."

"Certainly; we can discuss it for the next half hour at least" Hiccup agreed.

"But you all appear to have decided to go no matter what I say" Joric sighed.

"Yes we have" Astrid smiled.

"I am king you know."

"And you're a wonderful king dear" Sigrid looked at him proudly.

"So you shouldn't really be doing anything without my permission."

"Ah... but we're not married yet" Sigrid pointed out.

"And we're not Elydonian" Astrid added.

"Where are you going Joric?" Sigrid asked.

"Back to bed; say hi to Sigfus and Kylan for me when they get here."

"Do you think we've upset him?" Hiccup was worried.

"Oh he'll get over it" Sigrid was adamant "he loves me too much to let it bother him for long."

"We'd better not put that love to the test though" Astrid noted.

"Agreed" Sigrid nodded "not till after the ceremony."

* * *

**I think I may have worked out what it was that I didn't like about my last story; I'm not good with short stuff so I might just turn this into another multi act adventure and see how it goes. It is currently taking me about 5 days to do a chapter so sorry that they are not getting posted very often. Thanks, Marty and Moon =^..^=**


	5. Chapter 5

5 Tinker Tailor Dragon Spy

The silhouette of Baldcrest Hill loomed in the pre-dawn light as the small horse drawn caravan rattled down the road slowly towards it.

"Wake up Victor, we're almost there" Fotherington reached back behind the driver's bench and shook the young boys shoulder.

They had only been travelling a few hours as it had taken the pair half the night to prepare the house for their departure. Fotherington found a place well off the road to hide the cart and horses before he and Victor left on foot for the hill.

"Arm yourself Victor" he instructed the boy just before he locked the chest under the driver's seat.

"Do you expect trouble sir?"

"Always Victor; I'm sure that you were successful it shaking off the generals men but I can't be sure what they'll do next. The wisest thing to do would be to proceed here since this was the last place mentioned in the master's report and if they do, then our time is short but if they return to the capital for further orders first, then that should buy us another few hours or more."

"A few hours for what... and sir... why did the master leave?"

Fotherington stopped short; he was used to the master leaving big gaps in his knowledge as a training tool for honing his powers of observation and deductive reasoning but Victor of course, was only just starting on this part of the journey.

"I'm sorry Victor; I've been so caught up with taking over the former master's duties, that I have not been acting well as your new master so let's go through it step by step." he recommenced his walk towards the hill "What do you know about the master?"

"Well... he is very wise..." Victor began "and that's not just because of his age."

"You're on the right track but I don't think you've noticed it yet; think about what older people like to do and what wise people always do and put them both together."

Not being old himself, the first part confused Victor a little but the second part was easy because both the master and the apprentice both live by this belief: Nobody knows everything and a wise person always seeks to learn more right up until the day they died.

"Older people like to do lots of things like fishing, whittling and all sorts of stuff" Victor noted "but the master liked to particularly seek knowledge and learn new skills."

"Exactly right" Fotherington nodded "and of all the things that older people like to do, when do they do them the most?"

"When they retire... oh... so the master has... retired?" that did not sound right to the young boy.

"Not in the normal way Victor, but the master could never be thought of as a normal person. He had often talked with me about what may happen in the future and one of the most likely scenarios he believed would happen, apart from his unexpected death, was that he would simply leave if he ever discovered something or someone worthy of further study and so when he failed to return after his meeting with the riders of the flying creatures, I began to suspect that either he was dead or that he had indeed found something of great interest to him."

"Flying creatures are definitely interesting" Victor noted.

"Yes but there was also the girl."

"What girl sir?"

"The master discovered that one of the people that rode on the creatures was highly experienced in our special skills. He believed her to be as good as he was even though she was only a few years older than you."

"And so the master must have decided to try and find out more about her."

"Yes but the flying beasts would have piqued his interest too; although the master took my training very seriously, he would often seek out something new to study and learn about and become very excited when he found a good subject."

"If that is why the master left, then why are we here sir?"

"I dare say that the general had you followed because he believes that the master has betrayed him and he may suspect us as well so we must stay away from home until we can be sure that we are safe there."

"But I still don't understand why we are here sir; do you think the master will return… or maybe the flying beasts?"

"I doubt that we will see either of them up there Victor but it is only a matter of time before the general sends someone, or even comes here himself so I want to be in a position to observe what he does and maybe even overhear what is said."

"So we'll be setting up a blind sir?"

"Two blinds Victor."

* * *

"There's the castle" Astrid pointed out the tiny circle from above the clouds.

"Great" Hiccup noted "we'll fly on past the hill and then come in lower from the south just in case there is anyone in the area."

"I was actually a little surprised that you didn't bring Dianta with you" Astrid noted "I assumed she tried to talk you into it."

"Oh yes" Hiccup sighed "but she tended to give away to much information when we met Darius here last time so I couldn't take the risk."

"Don't worry Hiccup, she'll learn in time."

The Dragon Riders followed their plan and set down on the top of Baldcrest Hill just over half an hour later.

"So this is where it all happened" Sigrid looked around as she dropped down from Skywolf onto the ground.

"Wait" Astrid held up her hand to the others before she drew her knife.

Hiccup and Sigrid both noticed that it was not only their friend but all three dragons had tensed up too.

"Don't tell me Darius is hiding here again" Hiccup sighed.

"Nope... there's two this time" Astrid pointed out "and neither of them is anywhere near as good as Darius."

"I don't know about you Astrid" Hiccup sighed even louder "but I just can't be bothered anymore. OKAY WHOEVER YOU ARE, COME OUT."

With rather sheepish looks on their faces, Fotherington emerged from the undergrowth with a shrub covered hat on his head while Victor dropped down from a tree hide on the other side of the clearing and both of them appeared very nervous.

"What is it with you?" Hiccup asked in a frustrated manor "Do people in this country do nothing but hide in bushes all day spying on travellers?"

"Well you're not exactly your normal, everyday, run of the mill travellers" Fotherington pointed out.

"That doesn't really explain your behaviour though" Astrid commented as Toothless and Stormfly approached and sniffed at the increasingly frightened young men.

"Erm... c-could you call off your err... creatures please?" Fotherington requested.

"No" Hiccup was adamant "but they won't hurt you... unless we order them."

"Then please don't order them to hurt us."

"Okay, if you tell me why there is always someone hiding here and waiting for us."

"We err... weren't waiting for you" Fotherington admitted.

"Hang on a second" Astrid chimed in "are you waiting for Darius... trying to capture him perhaps?"

"I don't know anyone named Darius; is he one of your friends who was here the first time?"

"Keep an eye on them Toothless" Hiccup ordered his dragon as he called his friends in closer and whispered "he knows that the other Dragon Riders were here before, so either more people saw us than we thought or he's lying about knowing Darius."

"They did say 'Creatures' not 'Dragons' so they can't have talked to Darius. I would guess that they are in the same business" Astrid thought out loud "but in a lower pay grade."

"Not very good at spying and hiding?" Sigrid asked.

"Actually they're not bad; better than almost everyone else I've ever met."

"But not as good as you and Darius I suppose" Hiccup added.

"Sorry to sound so arrogant but… well… yes."

"Okay then" Hiccup turned back and spoke at a normal level again "suppose you tell us why you are here then."

"We were waiting for some other people" Fotherington offered hoping that would get him out of trouble but it didn't work.

"Nice try but you're gonna have to do better than that" Hiccup frowned "What people?"

Fotherington and Victor glanced at each other; it was time to come clean before a big blue winged reptile was ordered to bite someone's head off.

"Not long ago, my master saw creatures like yours stop here and so he came to observe them should they return, but although I believe he is still alive, he never came back and now we suspect that his former employer may accuse us of some kind of betrayal. We came here because I am sure that the man who suspects us will come here or send others to investigate and I wanted to hear what they had to say; our lives may depend upon what he believes."

"Okay then, so what is your master called?" Hiccup asked.

"I don't know; I always referred to him as master."

"So what's your name then?"

"Harold" Fotherington declared.

Astrid gave Stormfly a quick hand signal and before 'Harold' knew what hit him, the Deadly Nadder had knocked him over, put a talon to his throat and screeched in his face."

"FOTHERINGTON; MY NAME IS FOTHERINGTON" he declared quite adamantly.

"That's better" Hiccup smiled "Thank you my sweet."

"Anytime Snookums" she replied as Hiccup did a double take.

"Now then Fothers" Hiccup helped the still shaking man to his feet "how long before these people you are waiting for arrive?"

"I don't know, honest; we were just going to wait until someone turned up but I never suspected it would be you" it was plain to see that Fotherington's heart was still on the verge of leaping out of his mouth.

"Any volunteers?" Hiccup turned to his friends.

"I'll go" Sigrid grinned "I think things will go better here with Stormfly staring these two down."

A few seconds later, Skywolf and his rider took to the air and went off in search of any approaching force.

"Do you want to take over from Fothers… if there is anyone on the way?"

"I think that would be for the best" Astrid replied "I'll stay on the ground so I can get close to any leader while Fotherington can take… what's your name lad?"

"VICTOR" the boy replied so quickly that he actually managed to compress his name into a single syllable.

"Fotherington can take Victor's place in the tree" she concluded "if he wants."

"I could stay on the ground as well if you like" Fotherington offered.

"No offence but I don't want you stumbling about giving the game away."

Astrid may not have meant it, but it was plain from the look on Fotherington's face that some offence had been taken.

"That was quick" Hiccup declared as Skywolf settled back to earth nearby.

"There's a force of fourteen approaching from the north; it should be about an hour or more before they arrive and climb to the top here" Sigrid informed them.

"Okay then; do you have a camp nearby that we can drop Victor off at Fothers?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes but you'll be seen if you go there now."

"Right… okay… he'll have to stay with us then; I'll take him on Toothless."

"DON'T I GET A SAY IN THIS?" Victor declared loudly.

"Well… no."

* * *

**Hi everyone. The rest of Act 1 is comming along well (should be about 10 chapters all up) but I still have to work out the direction of Act 2 so there may be a week or two gap before posting - but don't worry because Act 1 won't have any huge cliffhangers in it.**

**Next chapter in a few days, bye for now, Marty.**


	6. Chapter 6

6 An Astrid By Any Other Name

It was a long wait for Astrid who was more accustomed to stalking rather than hiding and so her impatience finally took over and she decided to seek out her marks rather than await their arrival. She felt sure that Fotherington would not notice her departure (and indeed he did not) as she slipped away down the hill towards the lower tree line from where she could observe the men who climbed the hill before her. There were nine of them in this group but she could not see if the others were at the bottom of the hill or if they had been sent around the other side to cut off any escape.

"Spread out and look for anything out of the ordinary" the leader of the men ordered.

Astrid considered her options as the men moved closer on either side of her. Fleeing to one side seemed like the most obvious action but she soon realized that it was completely unnecessary as each man began stumbling around, kicking rocks and looking around tree trunks. Astrid decided that if these men were this clumsy, then she would just need to maneuver herself quietly between two of them and hide the in the undergrowth as they moved uphill. She fell in behind them after they had passed and trailed them back to the top of the hill again where Fotherington waited in his tree.

"Found anything?" the leader called out.

"There's nothing here to find sir" one of them replied "only that old camp fire but who knows how long that's been there."

Fotherington shook his head in disgust. These men may not have had his training, but anyone should be able to see that the fire was only about a week old from its smell alone.

"Right then; let's give it another five minutes of searching and then we'll head back and tell the general that if these flying creatures were here, they most likely would have returned to the north."

This was not what Astrid wanted to hear and so she decided to do something about it while she still had the chance.

'Sorry Hiccup' she thought to herself 'but if this works then it may be our fastest way out of here.'

Knowing that her time was short, Astrid moved quickly taking off her shoulder armor and hiding it silently. She then slipped quietly around to the southern side of the upper tree line picking wildflowers as she moved. When she had gathered a quaint little bunch and was far enough down the hill, she stood up and made her way back to the top while humming a feminine air. All of the men on the hilltop ceased their searching for clues and turned in the direction of the female voice.

"Oh… hello" Astrid feigned surprise as she stepped out of the bushes "are you the men on the flying beasts?"

"No we're not" the leader looked at Astrid suspiciously as his men moved to surround her "you know about these invaders do you?"

"Well… not much" Astrid lied "only what people say about them."

The leader of the group grinned at the man by his side. If they could take back any kind of information at all then there was a higher chance of reward and a lesser chance of being shouted at.

"What is your name young lady and why are you here?"

"My err… name is Rose and I've only come here to leave these flowers as a peace offering to the Sky Riders."

"An offering?" the man looked puzzled "What for?"

"Well they must be very powerful people and so we want to be on their good side."

"Have you seen them Rose?" he asked.

Astrid's thoughts spun as she quickly considered what she should say. It needed to be something that would keep Elydonia from being invaded or suspected but would not cause trouble for Berk either.

"I um… saw something but I can't say if it was them or not because… err… they were very high; as high as the clouds" she hoped this would satisfy the man.

"I would appreciate anything you could tell me about what you saw Rose."

The best way that Astrid could think of to throw these men off the trail would be to mix some of the truth in with a few ounces of misdirection for good measure.

"I'm told they were first seen a few weeks ago when they flew in from the southwest and ever since then, they have been seen coming and going from this hill in all directions. First to the north, then to the south and a few days ago someone saw them depart to the east and that was the last time they were seen."

"So they didn't come from the north?" the man verified.

"No, the southwest… from over the ocean" Astrid could not help but smile at her deception. Now if anyone went looking for the Dragon Riders, they would end up hundreds of miles from Berk and nowhere near Elydonia.

The leader of the men called some of his companions into a huddle and Astrid listened closely as they whispered. She pretended to be waiting patiently, so as not to let on that she could hear some of what they were saying but what she heard made her curse under her breath. The leader had decided to take Astrid with them back to the capital so that the General could interrogate her further if he so desired. She considered slipping away into the trees but could not escape the thought of what may happen if her story was not believed; Mistrust between Elydonia and New Loren, accusations and maybe even war.

"You will accompany us back to the capital and tell your story to General Karoc" the leader declared firmly when the men had finished their discussion.

"Oh I'm afraid that I can't do that" she declared "I must head home as soon as I am done here."

"And I'm afraid that I must insist. If the General is satisfied with your story then you will be released."

"No, I'm serious" Astrid decided to do a little insisting of her own "I've got a wedding to go to."

"Is it your wedding my dear?"

"Well… no but…"

"Then it will have to go on without you" the leader signaled to the men behind Astrid and they grabbed her roughly.

A tree branch to the right rustled briefly in an obvious sign to anyone with half a brain that there was somebody hiding in it but none of the men noticed at all.

"Unbelievable" Astrid sighed as the men hurried her away.

As soon as they were out of sight, Fotherington dropped down from his hiding place and took off down the hill in the opposite direction. High above the hill and slightly to the south, three dragons circled slowly while Hiccup kept a close eye through his spyglass.

"It looks like they're leaving" he informed Sigrid "although it's hard to see at this distance, I think they've all gone."

"Hiccup, who's that coming down the southern slope?" Sigrid asked.

"Err… I think it Fothers" he replied "but I don't see Astrid with him."

The dragons swooped down half way to the ground so that the hill was well positioned between them and the men descending on the other side.

"How did it go Fothers?" Hiccup asked as Toothless landed on the side of the hill.

"Y-your friend, they've taken her back to the capital" he panted.

"They found Astrid?" Hiccup was surprised.

"She exposed herself" Fotherington declared.

"I beg your pardon?" Sigrid was even more surprised.

"It's true. She just walked out of the undergrowth carrying some wildflowers and pretending to be a local girl. She had remover her metal shoulder armor and was calling herself Rose" the observant Fotherington informed them all.

"Now why would she do that?" Hiccup pondered "she must have had a reason."

"Let me think" Fotherington closed his eyes and concentrated as he recalled everything that had transpired on the hilltop.

"They emerged from the trees… there were nine of them. The leader told them to search the area but they missed everything except the campfire. Someone deduced that you must have retuned north… and soon after I heard her singing… no she was humming and then she appeared from the other side of the clearing with her flowers pretending to be surprised upon finding the men there."

"That explains it" Hiccup nodded "so what did she tell them?"

"They asked her what she knew and she said it was very little, but she did say that you were seen coming from the southwest and that you had flown to the north first. Then she said you were seen flying to the south before finally disappearing in the east. The head man then insisted that she return with them for further questioning but she said that she had a wedding to go to. They took her anyway."

Hiccup turned to speak with Sigrid and noticed that Victor was still seated on Toothless and was as white as a sheet.

"Ah… you can get off now if you want" he informed the boy.

"WHAT? Oh… yes" Victor only noticed at that point, that they were safely on the ground once more.

"Astrid must have been trying to direct their attention away from… you know where" Hiccup whispered to Sigrid.

"We've got to get her back before they arrive at the capital" Sigrid noted "she doesn't have enough local knowledge to bluff her way through a formal interrogation."

"Right; let's go" Hiccup agreed "See ya later Fothers; don't be a stranger."

"Wait a minute; we can help."

Hiccup and Sigrid looked at each as they both contemplated what they were going to do.

"If we attack them to get Astrid back, this will all have been for nothing" Sigrid noted.

"Alright then" Hiccup sighed "come on Victor."

"Oh damn" Victor cursed as he got back on the dragon. It wasn't Toothless that he didn't like; he just wasn't used to flying yet.

On Fotherington's suggestion, they first returned to their wagon that was still hidden a short distance away from the bottom of the hill.

"We'll be back in a minute" Fotherington called out as he dropped down from Skywolf.

He and Victor ran into the back of the wagon and shut the door. Hiccup and Sigrid looked on in confusion as the small wooden vehicle rocked slightly for a short time before Victor emerged looking very different. His hair was slicked back and he wore much smarter clothes but it was Fotherington who had the Dragon Riders worried. He now wore a long tailed jacket and carried a long satchel and a pair of crutches.

"What are they for?" Hiccup asked as Fotherington climbed back onto Skywolf behind Sigrid.

"These are for you" Fotherington grinned in a way that Hiccup did not like.


	7. Chapter 7

7 Trust Me; I'm a Doctor

"The way I see it, is like this" Fotherington called out to Hiccup as the three dragons flew north from Baldcrest Hill "you don't want General Karoc, or anyone else for that matter, to know that you came from Elydonia."

"We're not from Elydonia" Hiccup replied "so we don't want to be responsible for starting a war."

"And that's very noble of you, but if the General or the Emperor believes that you came from there, they would see it as an invasion from the north."

"So I've been told" Hiccup agreed.

"And so the best thing for us to do is to back up your captured friend's story."

"But we've been through all this" Sigrid interrupted "none of us know enough about New Loren to be able to pass ourselves off as locals, so when they start asking Astrid awkward questions that she can't answer..."

"That's where we come in" Fotherington grinned and pointed to some trees a few miles north from the town of Krundon "Put Victor down over there and we'll continue on to the capital."

With very little choice available to them, Hiccup and Sigrid decided to go along with Fotherington's plan, whatever it was. Toothless dived down sharply and left Victor where Fotherington had indicated before flying back to join Skywolf and Stormfly once more.

"I know a place where you can hide your... what do you call them, reptiles, lizards?"

Hiccup gave Sigrid a knowing grin before answering "We like to call them dragons; it makes them seem special to have such a powerful name."

Sigrid shook her head and sighed. Although she would no longer have to refer to them as 'Flying Creatures', she knew it was only a matter of time before the truth came out (if Snotlout or the twins were there, it already would have).

"And why not indeed" Fotherington agreed "I have read about many large reptiles that have the word dragon as a part of their names."

The place that Fotherington had chosen as a hiding place was far from pleasant. It was a half wrecked barn on an abandoned farm several miles west of the New Loren capital.

"The old man who lived here was branded a traitor by the authorities and his house was burned to the ground after he was executed in the castle" Fotherington informed the Dragon Riders.

"Are you sure nobody else will come here though?" Sigrid asked.

"It's doubtful; an order was given that his lands now belonged to the Emperor so his children could no longer farm here, so they just fled and have not been seen since. It's just been left to rot now as an example to everyone else; be loyal or your whole family suffers."

"This emperor sounds like a nice guy" Hiccup noted "a bit like King Rekkur."

"You know King Rekkur?" Fotherington looked surprised.

"Yes indeed; on his orders a ship from Bolthorn Castle came close to our home and his son Prince Nainn, started claiming all the islands in the area as his; in fact, that is how we came to be here in the first place."

"That's right" Sigrid continued "Our chief, Stoick the Vast captured Nainn and ordered him to leave forever. We followed his ship for a few days just to make sure that he did as he was told, but while we were keeping an eye on him, Nainn's forces kidnapped me and Astrid and took us back to Elydonia."

"And so we had to follow his ship all the way to Elydonia to rescue our friends. I tried to come to come to a satisfactory agreement with Rekkur, but he was determined to kill me and invade our home so he's king of the dungeon now?"

"Rekkur's been overthrown?" this was shocking news to Fotherington "so who's on the throne in Elydonia."

"I hear it's the grandson of Joric the Fourth" Hiccup said without hinting that the future Queen of Elydonia was currently in the old barn with them rubbing her beloved dragons chin.

"Well I hope He's an improvement on Rekkur."

"We all do" Sigrid grinned "so what's the plan?"

"Victor will try to join up with Astrid by pretending to be her younger brother; he will be able to cover for her during the questioning. Hiccup and I will help her to escape before they all enter the city gates if Victor fails."

"So why the crutches?" Hiccup asked.

"To make you appear harmless... or should I say... legless."

* * *

Victor walked cheerily along the road north of Krundon listening to the sound of the approaching hoof beats. He move to the side and gave a slight bow as a sign of the respect that was demanded by the Imperial Army. As they all rode by, he looked up and feigned surprise upon seeing Astrid being held by one of the soldiers.

"ROSE... ROSE MY SISTER!" he called out "IT'S ME, RUPRECHT."

Astrid turned her head to see Victor waving profusely.

"Oh... Ruprecht my brother" she wiggled free and dropped to the ground.

The leader of the horsemen called for them to halt and he turned his mount around. Victor pretended to start crying as he and Astrid ran into each other's arms.

"Oh my sister, what have you done? Why are these soldiers taking you away?"

"It's alright Ruprecht, they just need me to answer some questions about the Sky Riders and then I'm sure they'll let me go."

"Oh... well... I should go with you then" Victor turned to the leader "I can help you too sir as I have seen the Sky riders more than once sir."

The man looked at the two before him and considered what they had said. "You don't look like siblings."

"No sir we don't" Victor was used to covering his story "Rose has many of our father's features where as I take after my maternal grandfather... or so I'm told as they have both passed on these many years now."

"I see" he appeared to accept all this and ordered one of his men to pick up the boy while he retrieved Astrid.

Victor smiled and nodded to Astrid in a subtle way as they continued their journey to the capital.

* * *

"I don't see why I have to do this" Hiccup complained as he hobbled along on the crutches.

Fotherington had allowed Hiccup to use his spring loaded leg for the first part of their journey from the barn to the main gate of the capital, but as soon as they drew near, he insisted that Hiccup remove the false leg and hide it under his tunic.

"You'd be surprised what you can get away with in this place if people think you're crippled. They will assume that you want money from them so they will pretend not to see you. It's a method that I've used many times to avoid detection."

"That's amazing" Hiccup declared "where I come from, everyone treats me exactly the same as they did when I still had both limbs."

"You don't see yourself as crippled, do you?"

"Don't get me wrong Fothers…"

"Please don't call me that."

"…I was quite shocked when I lost my leg and it was very upsetting, but it wasn't the end of the world and none of my friends had a problem with it. A few of them like to make fun of me, but they always did before so there was no change really."

"Oh believe me, I do admire the way you just accept it and get on with life, but for the sake of espionage, you are better off pretending to be weaker than you truly are."

"So how do you do it Fothers? After all, you can't take your leg off."

"It's a simple trick for me to just tie my leg up, but there could be trouble if I get caught."

"I'm beginning to see your point" Hiccup sighed.

* * *

The stone wall that surrounded the New Loren capital had looked so small from the back of a dragon, but it loomed high over Astrid's head as the horses passed through the main entrance. Without trying to appear obvious, the young lady currently known as Rose scanned her surroundings and took careful note of anything that may be of assistance to her later. Alleys, hiding places, rooftops that could be vaulted across and high open windows were just some of the things that she took note of, but her attention was brought back down to earth when she heard a familiar voice ahead of her saying words that she did not expect to hear.

"Alms for a poor cripple sir" the one legged beggar asked as he held up his hand to the passing horsemen.

Just as Fotherington had said, the men all turned away from Hiccup allowing him to safely make eye contact with Astrid and give her a few quick hand signals. She smiled back and gave her return message before one of the horses almost knocked him over, forcing Hiccup to step back out of the way.

"Success?" Fotherington asked as he casually approached Hiccup.

"Err... won't people think it's suspicious if they see you talking to me like this?"

"That's why I wore this" Fotherington grinned "the short length coat with long tails is commonly worn by doctors and no one would think it odd for you to be talking to a doctor."

"Fair enough; I asked her if she needed help" Hiccup replied as he moved off to follow the horses "she said no, but we should wait close by just in case."

"I managed to get a quick word from Victor as well and it seems that the generals men bought the whole brother and sister bit."

"I'm finding it hard to keep up with them on these crutches" Hiccup complained.

"Just take it slow; I know where they're going."

* * *

In the centre of the city was a tall castle with three taller spires reaching up to the sky and Astrid naturally assumed it to be their destination, but the horsemen turned off the courtyard and through the archway of a stately looking home nearby.

"Come on you two, don't dawdle" the leader barked as he led his captives through a side door.

With four men surrounding them, Astrid and Victor were half lead and half pushed down a long ornate corridor with a polished marble floor before the party stopped in front of a large pair of doors.

"Wait here" they were ordered as the leader disappeared inside.

"Remember this" Victor whispered "siblings don't always agree on everything."

Astrid just smiled and nodded as they waited to be admitted into see General Karoc and barely a minute passed before the door was opened once more. The General appeared to Astrid to be quite an imposing figure with dark sunken eyes and thin pursed lips. Victor pretended to be both impressed and a little scared even though he had been inside that room, and in the General's presence, many times over the last several years although never while wearing such clean, well tailored clothes.

"I understand that you two have some information about the... err... what did you say they were called?"

"The young lady referred to them as Sky Riders sir" the head horseman informed the general.

"So you have met these invaders then, have you miss..."

"Rose sir" Astrid responded "and I haven't met them; Sky Riders is just a name I made up because that's where we always see them."

"I thought of it first" Victor protested.

"Quiet Ruprecht" Astrid hissed "General Karoc doesn't care who thought of it first."

"Then why do you always tell everyone it was you?"

"Children please" General Karoc sighed "just tell me what you know about where they went and what they did, when they arrived from Elydonia."

"Well first they went south sir" Victor spoke up quickly.

"No they didn't Ruprecht, they went north first" Astrid corrected.

"But Rose, the General asked where they went after they returned from the north" Victor argued.

"You said that they went south 'First' whereas you should have said 'Next'.

"Why do you always have to make me look stupid in front of other people" Victor whimpered.

"Well it's not hard if you keep getting things wrong."

"ENOUGH!" General Karoc shouted "who was the first one to see them?"

"I... I was... sir" Victor replied in a very shaky voice.

"And where were you when you first saw them boy?" the frustrated man sighed.

"O-over on the Rockport Peninsula with my cousin Marcus; we were checking on his father's farm because he doesn't trust the men that work there. I saw them fly in from the southwest one evening and I thought they were birds until they got closer."

"And did Marcus see them too?"

"At first no, but I called to him and he saw them just as they disappeared in the east but he also thought they were just birds and would not believe me when I said that they weren't."

Astrid was impressed at the way Victor appeared to simply make up these lies on the spot although she also began to wonder if she could ever trust anything he ever said in the future.

"And when did your sister first see these invaders?" the general turned to the girl he knew as Rose.

"Well sir" Astrid thought quickly "I heard a rumour about the Sky Riders being seen the evening before and landing on a big hill..."

"Baldcrest Hill sir" Victor filled in the gaps for Astrid.

"Err yes, Baldcrest Hill... and so I went for a walk to see if it was true and I witnessed them leave and fly off to the north. There were five of them and a few days later I heard a rumour that they were seen returning and then going south."

"Who saw that" the general snapped.

"I err... don't know sir" Astrid realised that she and Victor had better not pretend to know everything but just enough to get General Karoc to believe that they were not in league with King Joric in Elydonia.

"What do you mean you don't know" the general fumed "are you just making all this up?"

"Oh no sir, but not many people have seen them and... well... as I said, sometimes when you just hear more rumours about what was seen and I just had to try and put it all together."

"That's right sir" Victor piped in "but I've never heard anyone say anything about the Sky Riders before the time that I first saw them over on Rockport Peninsula, so I'm sure that was when they first arrived."

"And when was the last time you saw them?" Karoc eyed them carefully.

"The last time was when they returned from the south" Astrid played her final card; the lie that she desperately wanted to be believed.

"They landed on err... Baldcrest Hill again, stayed for an hour or so and then went east. That was several days ago and we haven't seen them since... they may have moved on sir because it looked to us like they were just exploring."

"I see" General Karoc pondered their story for a while as Victor and Astrid just stood there pretending to be nervous and innocent.

"Excuse me sir" Victor asked quietly "may we go home now."

"I don't see why not" the general sighed.

"Oh not just yet" a strange voice came from a chair in a dark corner on the other side of the room "I think they have much more to offer."

* * *

**Hi everyone. I have been very busy at work so I am a bit behind with my writing so I was surprised when I managed to get this one done on time, although it was mostly thanks to the hot weather - Moon likes to be outside (so he's not bothering me all the time) and it's too hot for gardening.**

**Thanks for reading and I'll be back soon, Marty &amp; Moon.**


	8. Chapter 8

8 Out of the Frying Pan

The Horseman who had escorted Astrid and Victor into the General's presence, reached for his sword as the stranger in the corner stepped out into the light.

"Oh you can put that away" the man declared in an aloof manner "General Karoc can vouch for me."

"You've gone too far this time Borges" Karoc sneered "Emperor Scias will here of this."

"I am here on Imperial business General; the Emperor requests your presence at once."

"THAT IS NO REASON FOR YOU TO SNEAK INTO MY PRIVATE ROOMS AND..."

"Sneak in General Karoc? I simply entered through the door and awaited your arrival" Borges declared smugly "and you were so busy with your paperwork and then with these err... people that I thought that it would be... shall we say, impolite of me to interrupt."

"Who's this guy"? Astrid whispered to Victor. She was beginning to think that this truly was a nation of spies as she had first thought.

Victor had heard of this man but had never met him. What Victor's master was to espionage, Borges was to cruelty and torture.

"What does the Emperor want? Karoc asked sharply.

"I'm sure that do not know and it would be unwise of you question his motives, but I do think that he would be fascinated to hear about the invasion from these... Sky Riders is it?"

"I have the report for the Emperor right here" General Karoc picked up a set of leather bound papers from his desk.

"And just when were you going to give it to him?" Borges accused.

It was a very old trick of General Karoc's to keep a copy of his secrets close by so that if he was caught out, he could pretend that he was merely waiting until the report was completed before handing it over to the Emperor.

"I was going to talk with the Emperor as soon as I had all the facts, plus I'll need to make some kind of sense out of what these children have just said. You heard them Borges; I couldn't just bring all that nonsense to Scias without putting it all into some kind of perspective."

"Just remember General; no one is above suspicion."

"I'm glad you put it that way" General Karoc smiled back.

"Ruprecht!" Astrid whispered again with urgency but Victor just made it clear that she should be quiet and just listen.

"Then I suggest that we present ourselves to His Imperial Highness at once" Borges insisted.

"Of course" General Karoc agreed and ordered the horseman "Percy, bring the children."

* * *

Fotherington lurked in the shadows about twenty yards away from the arched entrance to the General's home and observed everything that was going on around him. Hiccup stood impatiently out in the street and pretended to beg from the people who ignored him as they passed by. He wished that he could know exactly how long it would be before Astrid would appear, and they could all return again to Elydonia for Sigrid's wedding; he just wanted to put all this behind them and move on. It felt like an eternity had passed when at last, five men walked out of the general's home with Astrid and Victor in the middle of the group.

"Oh no!" Fotherington gasped as he made his way to Hiccup, trying to look calm while his heart raced.

"What's going on?" Hiccup whispered as Fotherington strode passed without acknowledging him.

"Follow me, say nothing and don't look at them" Fotherington ordered.

Hiccup didn't know why he should be worried, but he was. He had no hope of keeping up with Fotherington while still using the crutches, but he did manage to keep an eye on the back of his head as they moved through the city crowd. The palace guards snapped to attention as Astrid and her companions passed through the portcullis while Hiccup watched her disappear inside.

"Psst" he heard as he walked by a dark alley on the opposite side of the courtyard.

"I haven't touched a drop in weeks" Hiccup whispered.

"Get in here!" Fotherington whispered back.

"What on earth is going on now?" Hiccup asked after he had moved into the darkness.

"That man who was with the General…"

"What about him?" Hiccup asked concerned.

"I've been warned about him" Fotherington looked worried "his name is Borges and he is… well… kind of in the same business as my master was and I am now."

"You mean he's a spy" Hiccup stated.

"I wouldn't say that; Victor's limited skills are far better than his, but he has a very high success rate at gathering information.'

"If he's such a bad spy, how does he…"

"Let me put it this way; if anyone around here asks you how you lost your leg, all you would have to say is 'Borges' and they would pretend like they'd never spoken to you."

"Ah… sounds like a nice guy."

"I'll stay here and keep watch" Fotherington insisted "you'd better get back to the old farm and wait for dark. If we haven't all come back by then, meet me on the road outside the city; with your friends."

Hiccup sighed to himself. He didn't want to leave Astrid behind but if Fotherington was right, then he would need Sigrid and the dragons. It was slow going for the Dragon Master as he hobbled through the city on the crutches he was forced to use, but as soon as he was well outside the gates, Hiccup sat down on the ground and refitted his leg enabling him to run once more.

* * *

The interior of the Emperors palace was just as ornate as Bolthorn Castle in Elydonia but in a very different style. The banners, landscape paintings and tapestries that adorned Sigrid's future home were almost non-existent in New Loren apart from a few paintings and drawings of strange beasts, some of which made the dragons look like cuddly pets. There was a large winged lion with a segmented tail that looked just right for stabbing, a fiery bird with seven flaming tails, a half woman/half spider, even a dragon, but the one that caught Astrid's eye was hooked beaked bird/lion with huge talons.

"What's that one?" she whispered to Victor as they were marched by.

"Shh… later" he whispered back.

Important looking people sauntered by while others hurried about doing the important things that important people didn't think were important. The party climbed a wide marble staircase at the end of a long hall only to find another long hall when they reached the top. This led straight into a massive reception room lined with seven guards on each side and a raised throne near the end.

"You will wait here" Borges demanded.

He strode off the other end of the room and disappeared behind the right side curtain. Fifteen minutes dragged slowly by before two young men carrying long brass horns marched in from behind Astrid and took up positions in the centre of the room and stood to attention. An elderly man emerged from behind the same curtain into which Borges had gone and made his way to the bottom step in front of the throne.

"ALL HERE PRESENT, DEFER TO HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY SCIAS: RULER OF NEW LOREN, EMPEROR OF PANTORO AND THE CROACUS ISLANDS."

The horns blew a loud and elaborate fanfare as an extremely regal looking man in gold braded white robes glided down from a stairway behind the throne. The guards all snapped to attention and Astrid felt Victor lightly slap the back of her hand. He did this to draw her attention to the fact that she was the only one there not bowing.

"Oh… whoops" she gasped and bowed along with the others.

Scias took his place on the throne just as the fanfare came to its impressive conclusion. The Emperor then gave a nod to the elderly man who had announced his arrival.

"GENERAL KAROC WILL APPROACH THE THRONE" the man ordered.

Out of the corner of her eye, Astrid noticed everybody ceased their bowing at that point and the General began to make his way up to the foot of the throne while the clacking sound of his shiny, hard soled boots echoed loudly around the room. He dropped to one knee in front of the throne and waited for the Emperor to speak.

"I am informed that you have been keeping news of an invasion from me General Karoc" the Emperor's voice dripped with even more venom than Borges.

"With all respect Your Imperial Highness" the General bow his head again "you have been misinformed. I have commenced a report about a group of strange flying creatures that had been in the vicinity of the village of Krundon, but the report is incomplete and I only became aware of the possible invasion in the last hour. What's more Your Majesty, much of what I have is still unsubstantiated rumour and hearsay."

Without a word, the Emperor ordered Borges to fetch the report by simply twitching his right hand. Hurrying down the steps almost to the point of falling, Borges snatched the report that the General held and hurried back to the top again. He offered the pages to the Emperor, who just waved them off with a shrug. Scias was aware of the competition that people around him would engage in to gain his favours, and so he could not be sure if the General truly was acting treasonous by withholding information, or if Borges was merely trying to discredit Karoc.

"Well" the Emperor sighed impatiently "what does it say?"

"Oh… err… let me see" Borges could sense that he was losing his advantage "the first page is a letter telling of the sighting of flying creatures south of Krundon and it's signed by…"

Even the Emperor was surprised by Borges gasp and rapid intake of breath.

"WELL?" Scias fumed.

"I-it's just signed… 'D' Your Highness."

"D? But surely he must be dead by now."

"If I may Your Highness" General Karoc offered "it is true that after the many years of service given to the Imperial House, the spy known as D had retired but he always kept his eyes and ears open in loyal service to His Majesty."

"This is only more evidence of your unfaithfulness Karoc" Borges almost exploded "keeping even more information from the Throne."

"Not true Your Majesty; I have always handed over everything to you in the past." the General bowed his head to the Emperor not only to show respect, but also to hide the grin on his face.

Many years ago, General Karoc realised that if it were ever discovered that he had been running his own private spy network, as well as gathering all kinds of information about the movements and affairs of the powerful people of New Loren, he would probably not live to see the sunset and so he had taken many precautions. One of these precautions was to destroy all evidence of the most damaging information and only keep it in his head. The second and more important precaution was to always give a copy of his remaining information to the Emperor, so he could not be accused of the treason that he truly was guilty of.

"What else is in the report Borges?" the Emperor demanded to know.

Astrid and Victor listened with interest as Borges read out the letter that Fotherington had sent to the General, but only they knew that he was the mysterious 'F' who had signed it. The last page was also of interest to them; it was some short handwritten notes from the General himself to the Emperor outlining his opinion that what had been seen in the skies over New Loren, may just be peasant's stories but that he had sent men to investigate just to be sure.

"There is the evidence against General Karoc; there is no mention of the testimony of these two children" Borges accused as he pointed to Astrid and Victor at the other end of the room.

"Yes that is right, Your most Imperial Majesty" General Karoc played his trump card "because I have only received their evidence within the last hour and as Borges was hiding in my study when they arrived, he will be able to attest to that fact."

Borges scowled at the smiling General. He had been so eager to expose his enemy as a treasonous traitor but it was all falling apart before him; he had to turn things back into his favour and fast.

"The General was about to release these two without proper interrogation Your Highness; let me have them and I will guarantee you results."

The Emperor considered Borges request for a short time before he turned back to the General.

"Well Karoc, do have any objections?"

"Oh no Highness; it will give me an opportunity to inform His Majesty of what I discovered when I questioned them in my study."

Astrid did not know what to think about the direction in which their circumstances were now headed, but if she had looked down at Victors face, she would have seen that he had turned very pale. She did notice however, that Borges was looking extremely annoyed.

"We're dead" Victor whispered "nothing can save us now."

"What?" Astrid quietly asked "Why?"

"Karoc will tell the Emperor everything we told him."

"But isn't that what we wanted?"

Without even looking at Astrid and Victor, Borges ordered two of the guards who were lined up on the left side of the room to remove the children from the custody of the Generals men and take them downstairs.

"Where are we going now?" Astrid asked.

"To the dungeon" Victor replied.

"Oh... my friends Hiccup and Snotlout spent some time in a dungeon once; they didn't like it."

"Nobody does" Victor sighed.

* * *

**Hi everyone. As usual this story is going longer than I first thought but I think act 1 will be done in another week or so. Work has picked up (as I mentioned before) cutting into my writing time so I have decided to give act 1 a nice ending so it won't leave everyone hanging for several weeks while I work on act 2.**

**A big thank you to the twenty or so readers who always check out a new chapter in the 1st day of posting - it's nice to see that it is being read considering there are over 10 000 HTTYD stories on this site and so you have so much to choose from.**

**Bye for now, next chapter will be up near the end of the week.**

**Marty and Moon.**


	9. Chapter 9

9 It's a Long Way to the Top

Sigrid the Strong was pleased to see Hiccup when he arrived back at the barn, but she was not happy to see that he was alone.

"Alright, what's gone wrong this time?" she asked.

Hiccup did his best to explain about what happened in the city, of Borges and his reputation, and how Fotherington had told him to wait until nightfall before he would meet them outside the walls.

"Looks like we may be in for a long night" she declared when Hiccup had finished.

"Good point" he nodded "we'd better get some rest now so we will be alert when the time comes. I'll take the dragons on a little trip to the seaside so they can feed themselves while you take a nap, and then I'll rest till you wake me up at sunset."

"Sounds like a good plan" Sigrid agreed but then she shook her head and sighed "and I was so looking forward to getting married tomorrow."

* * *

The cell door closed with a crash followed by the clank of the bolt locks being thrown. Astrid watched the guards leave through the peephole before doing a quick check of the cell for any sign of future escape possibilities, or of anyone being within earshot.

"Alright then" she whispered as she sat down next to Victor on the cold stone floor "why are we here and why do you say we are dead?"

"Well" he sighed "it all comes down to the fact that we have accidentally been put in between two men who both want to gain the Emperors favor and we can't give either one what he wants without destroying the credibility of the other at the same time so when this all settles down, someone is not going to be happy with us. Karoc will tell the Emperor all that we have told him and so, in order to come out on top, Borges will need to find out more, and he will do whatever it takes to find out what he wants to know."

"Okay, fair enough" Astrid did not see the problem yet "so we give Borges more information about the 'Sky Riders' to make him happy and then we go home; simples."

"And then when General Karoc hears what we told Borges, he'll arrest us for withholding information from him and we'll be thrown back in here to be interrogated, in other words tortured, until everyone is satisfied that we have totally spilled our guts; figuratively and literally."

"Ah… right… so we stick to our story that we have already told Karoc everything we know."

"Which will make Borges furious that Karoc has gotten the better of him, so he will keep torturing us until we give him something more, which will anger Karoc.

"So in other words… we're dead" Astrid agreed.

"Well there is a slim chance that we'll be released in the end" Victor acknowledged "but not with as many limbs as your friend has."

"Oh we can't have that" Astrid shook her head "Hiccup says I've got great legs."

Victor looked down at his own legs and pondered as to whether he could also use that as an excuse to keep them but decided that his were very ordinary.

"It looks like we have no other choice" Astrid eventually decided "we'll just have to escape."

"Hey, I know you're good" Victor shrugged "but have you looked around lately? And it will be worse when we get tied to… the machine."

"The machine?" Astrid repeated "Sounds awful."

"You don't know the half of it."

"Well maybe we can find a more… appropriate form of torture for this… swine to indulge in."

* * *

Borges heard the whimpering as he approached the cell so he quietly crept up closer and listened through the peephole in the door.

"I'm sorry Rose… I'll try to be brave."

"It's alright Ruprecht. It's natural to be scared… but at least we're in the dungeon" Astrid gave a weak chuckle.

"What's so great about the dungeon" Victor huffed.

"Well it's better than the tower. You know how scared you get in high places… and I'm not fond of them either."

"That's true" Victor nodded "I could never keep my mouth shut in the tower; after a few hours up there I'd tell them everything."

Borges grinned as he rushed off to get the guards. He moved so quietly that nobody would have known that he was ever there.

"It's okay" Astrid declared "he's gone now."

* * *

"Where are you taking us now?" Astrid pleaded ten minutes later, even though she already knew.

"Oh you'll like it I'm sure" Borges gave a Snotloutish smile "fresh air, charming views, much nicer than that stuffy old dungeon."

"Err... Rose…" Victor shivered as he looked up the spiral stone staircase before him.

"Don't worry Ruprecht" she comforted him "just watch the steps in front of you and don't look down; we'll be fine."

Borges walked at the back and reveled in the fear being shown by the two prisoners, although he would not have been anywhere near as happy if he knew that they were faking their fear. Each guard had one hand on the children's shoulders so every now and then Astrid or Victor would pretend to stumble on the steps, and Victor even crawled up for a while until the guard picked him up roughly by the collar. A gruesome sight greeted them soon after they reached the halfway point on the stairs; out of some of the open window shutters, Astrid noticed that there were metal cages hanging on the outer walls some were the size of a small room but most were just large enough for one person to stand up inside, but the worst thing about them was that some of the cages still had human bones inside.

"Y-you're not going to put us in one of those c-cages, are you?" Astrid asked, hoping that Borges would put her in one of those cages.

"Oh I don't want to" Borges declared sarcastically "but I know that you are withholding vital information from your Emperor, and that just cannot be permitted."

"We're not withholding anything" Victor pleaded "I swear."

"Don't lie to me boy" Borges replied sharply as they continued up the steps.

Fortunately for everyone else, Borges was not a very fit man and so both prisoners and guards had many opportunities to rest on the way up, but when the group finally did reach the top, Astrid's guard threw open the window shutters to reveal one of the smaller cages was hanging from a frame about eight feet away from the wall. The cage was hung from a five foot chain so the guard was able to pull the base in close using a hook on the end of a long pole that stood in a rack nearby.

"Please no" Astrid whimpered as the guard opened the door.

Even though this cage was made to hold a single adult man, it appeared obvious tp her that Borges intended to squeeze a young lady and a small boy into this one.

"This is your last chance to tell me what I want to know" Borges sneered.

"But sir, we've already told everything we know" Astrid replied desperately.

In answer to a flick of Borges hand, the guards threw Astrid and Victor into the cage and screwed up the bolt lock. Both of the new tenants squealed with feigned fright as the hook was released and the cage swung out precariously from the tower high above the palace.

"Do you have anything to tell me now?" Borges demanded over the screaming.

"We don't know anything more" Victor whimpered.

"Well perhaps your memories will improve after a few hours… hanging about" Borges grinned, proud of his very bad joke.

"I am going to have my supper now; perhaps when I return you will have something more to say… if I get back before the ghost comes that is."

Borges stepped back and the shutters were closed behind him leaving the prisoners outside alone. Astrid and Victor kept up the whimpering as they listen to the sound of Borges footsteps descending the stairs.

"The guards are still there" Astrid whispered "so be careful."

"So what do we do now that we're here?" Victor asked.

"Escape if we can, but I think we may be up a little too high for that so we will have to wait for Hiccup and Sigrid to come and get us."

"I just hope they get here before the ghost does" Victor looked about for any signs of a supernatural apparition in the vicinity.

"It's a bit early in the day for spooky stories" Astrid smiled "there are still a few hours to go till sunset."

"Oh this ghost doesn't wait till dark" Victor declared "it could come at any time."

"Hang on a minute" Astrid wondered "are you serious?"

"I'm very serious; look over there."

Astrid followed where Victor was pointing and noticed another frame similar to the one from which their cage now hung, but the only thing hanging from this one, was about a foot and a half of chain.

"If the ghost comes before your friends do, it will spit out its green burning saliva and we will either burn to death or fall all the way to the ground."

Victor's voice shook with fear and his eyes darted left and right as he spoke while Astrid started to get a sinking feeling.

"What does this ghost look like?" she asked.

"Oh it's almost invisible" Victor replied "But you can almost see it, when it's close by."

"Don't tell me" Astrid sighed "let me guess; when it's on the wall, it looks like the wall but when it's on the roof, it looks like the roof."

"Have you seen it?" Victor's eyes were wide with wonder.

"I think so, but it isn't a ghost; it's called a Changewing."

"A Changewing?" Victor asked surprised "What's a Changewing?"

"I suppose the best way to describe it, would be to say that it's a little bit like Skywolf, but not very much."

"You mean it's a… a dragon… like yours?"

"Pretty much yes but just as ours are all a bit different from each other, so is this one."

"So what do we do if it comes here?"

"I'm not entirely sure" Astrid pondered "I don't suppose you have any fish in your pocket, do you?"

* * *

**I wish you could see the smile on my face. I have been having trouble with chapter 10 and had not written a word all week. This morning I finished proof reading and re-writing this chapter when it hit me; a weird idea for a new character. I don't know if anyone will like him and I don't know how long he will last but I am so looking forward to finishing off chapter 10 (on Sunday I hope) and introducing Dylan to the world soon after.**

**Please excuse the hype up, Marty (&amp; Moon of course).**


	10. Chapter 10

10 The Spectre of the Tower

There was something very satisfying about life in the cage and Dylan was very happy there. It had been several weeks since he, and his more than a hundred brothers and sisters, had hatched from their egg sac and taken to the skies to ride the wind. Dylan had been fortunate to catch a very strong updraught soon after he had let out his long web sail and so while most of his siblings were now fighting for survival in the lands below, this joy filled little spider was living the literal high life in his web strung up between two cage bars on the castle tower.

Not only did Dylan have all the local insects to himself, but sometimes a dirty and smelly person would be put inside the cage and he could take a walk across them, feasting on fleas and ticks. His latest trip however had been a great disappointment and he was beginning to wish that he had stayed home on the web because this girl was surprisingly clean and had only the smallest and most basic mites that would sit on a person's hair strands and not the juicy, blood sucking parasites that he was used to finding on the grubbier prisoners.

'If only someone who was a little dirtier would be put in the cage' Dylan thought 'someone who did not like to bathe and had very greasy hair.'

GOBBER!

The name echoed inside his tiny arachnid mind causing the little spider much confusion. He had received these strange messages before when walking across someone's back or up their arm but he had no idea what they meant; such is the confusing life of a physic spider.

* * *

The threaded bolt that held the cage door closed was both rough and rusted, but Astrid had managed to loosen it with very little trouble so she would be ready to open it up if the need arose. The guards never bothered to do the bolts up tightly because the prisoners that they were used to hanging outside the tower, usually tried to avoid falling to their deaths and never tried to open the cage doors.

"Now that's odd" she suddenly exclaimed.

"What is?" Victor enquired.

"I was just thinking about the best course of action to take when Borges returns when out of the blue, it was as if someone had asked me 'Who doesn't like to bathe?' and I thought of my friend Gobber the Belch."

Yes... that is odd" Victor agreed "you'll get no argument from me, but could we please keep our minds on the problem at hand?"

"It shouldn't be too much longer" Astrid noted as the sun slowly disappeared below the horizon.

She was beginning to believe that everything was going to fall nicely into place at last; night would fall, Hiccup would come and Borges would have to spend the next day trying to explain to the Emperor how his prisoners had escaped, but then she heard the footsteps coming up from below and several minutes later, Borges reached the top and ordered the guards to open the window shutters once more. While she was not happy to see him again, both Astrid and Victor were pleased to see how red and flustered he looked after climbing up all those steps, and the light of the sunset didn't help his complexion at all. The pretend siblings had spent a relaxing few hours in the cage but now the time had come to resume acting fearful for their captor again.

"Well then..." Borges tried to sound menacing while attempting to catch his breath "I hope that you two are ready to cooperate."

He continued to breathe deeply and almost hyperventilated while Astrid and Victor just shivered in the cramped cage.

"Get the girl" Borges ordered one of the guards who reached up for the hooked pole.

Thanks to the act they had put on earlier in the afternoon, Borges believed that Ruprecht was the one most terrified of high places and so he figured that if he removed his sister and left the boy hanging alone for a short time, he would soon crack. With a creak that destroyed all confidence in the strength of the chain, the cage was drawn in closer to the window and the second guard went to work on the bolt and was surprised to find it so loose.

"ROSE!" Victor called out as Astrid was dragged from the cage before it was let go and allowed to swing out again with the door still unlocked.

The young boy held on tightly to the bars in genuine fear as his feet slipped out of the open door and hung briefly in mid air before the cage swung back again.

"DON'T LET GO RUPRECHT" Astrid called out.

"Thanks... I won't" Victor replied to the sage advice sarcastically.

Astrid quickly looked up and around at the rafters above her head. The guard was holding her firmly but she was sure that she would be able to break his grip and leap up before he could react. Both guards would then be compelled to chase her down so she planned a route around the top of the roof beams that would bring her back into a position to swing down again and kick Borges with both feet. She couldn't guarantee that he would be in the ideal position when she did so, but she was sure that he would either fall back down the stairs or off the stairs but if he didn't move from where he was now, he'd go straight out the window; the thought of this made her smile.

"Now then boy" Borges smirked "what exactly are you not telling..."

'THUMP'

A loud noise from the roof above made everyone look up; Astrid crossed her fingers and hoped that it was Hiccup and Toothless but Victor was the only one who clearly see what it was from his vantage point in the cage.

"Err... Rose..." he voice cracked "the tiles are... well... they're wobbling."

"Damn" she whispered to herself "so much for plan A."

The sudden noise had frightened the guard so much, that his grip on Astrid had tightened, forcing her to get a little violent. The poor man yelped with pain as her heel came down sharply on his toes and before he, or anyone else could react, Astrid had broken his grip on her and leaped out of the window. She grabbed onto the cage just as it swung back and rode it out into the fading light.

"GRAB HER YOU IDIOTS" Borges yelled at the guards, but as they moved forward the cage began to swing back again.

Astrid took full advantage of the momentum and swung out her legs, catching the window stutters and kicking them back at the guards. The second fell back onto the stairs but the first sailed back off the edge and down the tower. Fortunately for him, he did not go all the way to the bottom but instead landed roughly on his back, one flight of steps below. As if to punctuate everyones shock, the sound of something heavy moving about, drifted down from the roof above and Borges decided that the time had come to beat a hasty retreat from both the ghost, and Astrid's feet. Borges almost fell over the first guard who moaned softly as he ran by, but the second guard stopped briefly to help his friend back to his feet and down the steps to safety.

* * *

The Changewing gave a low guttural growl as it moved across the conical roof towards the cage that Astrid was climbing back into. Tall trees, hill tops and towers in the general area, were all places that the near invisible dragon like to consider to be his territory and although he did not mind the people moving around down below, he did take great offence when someone dared to come up to his level. These latest ones would need to be taught a lesson, just like all the others and be sent back down to the ground in a hurry. The dragon did not consider that is was his fault if they should die a brief but painful death when they struck the ground; they should have learnt their lesson from all the others who had come crashing down before them over the last year or so.

One thing he did notice about these latest intruders, was that they were both much smaller than the people that he usually found hanging from the tower and one of them was female which although was not unheard of, was quite rare. The Changewing did not like human females very much, for although everyone would scream and yell when he appeared, well... semi-appeared, the voices of the females was of a much higher pitch than the males and it hurt his delicate ears, although the men were the most likely to start crying and the squeal of a crying man was even worse to the sensitive dragon.

It took the Changewing a short time to realise that there was something wrong here; in the nearby forest, people would either run from him or attack (with the runners living a few minutes longer than the attackers did) and as already mentioned, the people in the cages would scream and yell or shiver silently in fear, but these smaller ones were... different somehow."

"Hello there" Astrid addressed the dragon as she climbed up on top of the cage "Sorry I don't have any fish for you."

'Yes indeed' the dragon thought 'it would hide the horrid taste of human if they would garnish themselves with a nice tasty, oily fish.'

With a shudder, the Changewing stopped it slow advance across the conical roof and spread out its left wing. After studying it for a few seconds, the dragon looked down at its chest and saw that all was well; its camouflage ability was working brilliantly so how did this young girl seem to know what it was and where it was?

"I'd say that we aren't going to harm you, but I don't think that's your biggest worry."

She was right; the Changewings biggest worry at the moment was trying to work out how the humans had managed to overcome its invisibility. It would have been much happier if it had only known that Astrid could not see it, but was just guessing its location based on the sound of its footsteps and breathing. Something else suddenly occurred to the dragon; how was it that he could understand what this person was saying? He did not know the words at all, but as she spoke the meaning of them just appeared inside his head - along with a strange desire to eat a fly or two.

"We're actually waiting for some other dragons to come and get us" she revealed, not knowing why she was doing so well with this wild dragon, but Astrid was happy none the less that she and Victor were not covered with gelatinous acid... yet.

* * *

Old men were the easiest to transverse thanks mainly to the thinning or total lack of hair on their heads but this young blonde was giving Dylan a very hard time. He had been fighting his way through her straw coloured locks for what had seemed like an eight legged eternity, when he at last came across the studded leather headband that neatly crossed her forehead and encircled her crown like a bypass road. When Dylan had made his way to the top of the strap, he sat down to take a short rest because, unlike most of the people he encountered in his cage, this one did not stay still for a minute. She always seemed to be moving about or fidgeting with something and eventually, to Dylans complete surprise, she had started jumping about in a way that had made the little spider confused and dizzy, but now she had slowed down at last and was not moving much at all, giving him the break he needed. If Dylan could close his eyes, he would have even tried to get some sleep.

Something breathing behind him, caught his attention and when he looked around, he saw that his short time of rest, and possibly his life, would soon be over.

"Oh sh*t" he gasped when his polarised eyes allowed him to see the face of the dragon that no one else could, staring at him from only a few feet away.

This was one of those few times in a spider's life when he really wanted his mother; if only he and his siblings had not eaten her back when they had first hatched.

* * *

**I was watching a bit of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last night and realised that the whole series would have been much better if Harry had always acted like he did when he was under the influence of the Luck Potion. Confusing his friends, sneaking up on the Professor and doing the whole nasty fang bit with the giant spider; I almost wet myself laughing.**

**By the way, I came up with the idea for Dylan the Psychic Spider days ago so he is not based on Hagrid's pet BUT I did notice that his ability means that he is very similar to Douglas Adams Babel fish but with more personality... and legs.**


	11. Chapter 11

11 Exit: Stage Left

To say that Hiccup was getting impatient would have been a massive understatement to say the least. He and Toothless had been standing just outside the barn door for over half an hour watching the light fade after sunset and itching to get going.

"Okay bud... time to go" he declared as he climbed onto the saddle.

"Are you sure?" Sigrid asked "Fothers didn't want us to be seen and it's not totally dark yet."

"Hey, I'm riding a Night Fury" Hiccup smiled "Ain't nobody gonna see us, but you'd better wait here a bit longer."

Without another word and not waiting for a reply, Hiccup and Toothless shot into the sky and Sigrid had to admit to herself that he was right as the black dragon disappeared completely into the oncoming night.

* * *

Toothless covered the miles between the old farm and the capital in only a few minutes. Torches shone from the outer walls as soldiers kept watch at their posts so Hiccup did not dare to fly over the castle yet, but instead came into land a safe distance away from the main gate.

"You've arrived sooner than I expected" a familiar voice spoke low from a nearby clump of bushes.

"Fothers! Is Astrid with you?" Hiccup asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not... and stop calling me that. I waited outside the palace all afternoon but the only thing I saw was General Karoc and his men leaving late in the day... and the General look very satisfied with himself."

"So what do we do now... and where would they be?"

"Ah... now here's the good news; I heard a loud metallic creaking coming from one of the high towers. It was too far away for me to see what was going on but I think there is a good chance that it was Astrid and Victor being hung out in one of the cages."

"Cages?" Hiccup panicked "What cages?"

"Prisoners are sometimes placed in small cages hanging from near the tops of the towers. Usually to scare them but sometimes just to be left and forgotten about. For anyone else this would be a disaster but with your dragons to fly you up there..."

"Say no more Fothers" Hiccup declared as he and Toothless took to the air once more.

"But wait; I didn't tell you about..." Fotherington called but too late "And don't call me Fothers."

* * *

Hiccup made sure that he and Toothless had gained sufficient height before they flew over the castle wall just to be sure that the light from the torches would not fall onto the Night Fury and give away their presence. Together they began to circle about thirty feet above the tops of the towers and only a few seconds had passed before Toothless's keen senses noticed someone very familiar so he signalled to his rider.

"What is it Toothless; is it Astrid?"

The dragon took the lead in their direction of travel; straight down to the girl sitting on top of the cage.

"Is that you Babe?" she stared into the darkness.

"No, it's some other cute guy with one leg on a Night Fury" Hiccup called back from the hovering Toothless.

"Neat" she smiled "are you looking for a girlfriend?"

"When you two have finished flirting, I would like to get down from here" Victor called out.

Hiccup had been trying hard to ignore the way that Toothless was growling but he found that he could not keep it up any longer.

"What is wrong with you Toothless?" he asked the agitated dragon.

"Oh don't worry about him" Astrid told Hiccup "he just concerned about the Changewing behind me."

"CHANGEWING?" Hiccup panicked.

"Don't you start worrying too" she huffed "if he was going to be a problem, Victor and I would both be dead by now."

"But how did you... well... not get killed?"

"To be honest Babe, I really don't know" Astrid admitted "I simply tried talking to him and he just sat there... listening."

"So... is he still there?" Hiccup asked.

"Yup, sure is" Astrid turned back to the dragon "Say hi to my friends Hiccup and Toothless."

"Err... hi there?" Hiccup waved at the dragon he couldn't see.

Changewings are hard enough to spot in broad daylight but they are virtually impossible to see at night. Hiccup wasn't sure if the grunt that came from the dragon was a very friendly one, but at least the Changewing wasn't attacking.

"I'm with Victor" he decided "I think it's time we left."

"Okay Babe" and without another word, Astrid leapt off the top of the cage and onto Toothless's back.

Victor found the transfer from cage to dragon much harder to accomplish but fortunately he was light and Astrid was strong for her age, like most Vikings. He did stumble after he had taken her hand, but Astrid was able to easily swing him up behind her, loading poor Toothless with three people who were all, thankfully not very heavy.

* * *

Sigrid followed Hiccup only a few minutes after he had left the farm. The sky had turned completely dark and she could at last be sure that Skywolf and Stormfly would not be spotted from the city wall. When she arrived, Fotherington explained to her that Hiccup and Toothless had already flown off to the castle towers and she had immediately wanted to go after him.

"Wouldn't it be better to give him a chance to have a quick scout around first?" Fotherington suggested and although it was not what Sigrid had wanted to hear, she could see the wisdom in his idea.

When they returned, it was plain to see that what Hiccup and Toothless had taken was more than just a scouting trip, for when the Night Fury landed a few minutes after Sigrid had arrived, she was pleased to discover his trio of passengers.

"Astrid!" Sigrid smiled as she hurried over and hugged her friend "I can't wait to hear what happened to you and Victor in that castle."

Nobody else had a chance to give any greeting or indulge in any pleasantries before all hell suddenly broke loose. Unknown to Hiccup and Astrid, the Changewing had followed them down out of curiosity, causing Skywolf and Stormfly to immediately get defensive. The small group of dragons, riders and spies were far enough away from the city walls to be safely hidden by the darkness in any normal circumstance, but when Stormfly and the Changewing began to roar at each other, any attempt at normalcy went flying out the proverbial window. Up on the ramparts, the eyes of every sentry gazed out into the night in reaction to the sudden raucous noise coming from far in the distance. Those sentries would have been no more than frightened and concerned if it were not for Skywolf spreading his wings and setting himself alight to warn off the unwanted intruder.

Astrid had already rushed over to calm Stormfly so Hiccup attempted to help out Sigrid with her mighty Monstrous Nightmare. Fotherington and Victor almost fainted at the sight of the burning dragon as they both realised at last, that the name dragon was much more than just a nickname.

"It's alright Skywolf" Hiccup comforted the dragon "He hasn't tried to hurt us."

The member of the group who was most surprised by what was happening, was Stormfly and not because of the Changewing. She and Astrid had always been close and had also been able to communicate easily with voice tone, body language and even hand signals but now, thanks to the psychic spider sitting on Astrids headband, Stormfly could now vaguely understand everything that her little blonde pet was saying to her.

* * *

'My cage... they've taken me from my cage' Dylan panicked 'and I had two uneaten mosquitoes stashed in the web too.'

Although he was extremely relieved not to have been eaten or burnt to a crisp by the Changewing, Dylan was still very upset that the peaceful life he had planned for himself, hanging from one of the towers in the New Loren capital and growing fat on flies, was no longer going to eventuate. He had already travelled the spider's equivalent of a hundred miles from his home and he knew that he would never be able to find his way back again.

'Oh well, I suppose I'd better make the best of things' he decided as he crawled down inside of Astrid's headband.

The enterprising little spider soon found a small hole in the back of one of the metal studs that surrounded the leather strap, and made himself a new home inside of it. Although he did not know how long he would stay, Dylan felt safe there so he spun a small web around the entrance and settled down for a well deserved rest. Outside he could hear people talking and dragons roaring, while visions of a young girl attempting to calm a group of angry dragons echoed back and forth inside his head. He soon began to dream and this was a dream like he had never experienced before. He dreamt that he was a mighty Viking warrior spider, standing tall on the edge of a sea cliff with waves crashing down below. He was clad in yak skin with a horned helmet on his head and in his two front right hands, he held aloft a pair of broadswords (such were the nature of Dylan's dreams because in reality, he did not have hands).

* * *

The general air of panic that had engulfed the group after the unexpected arrival of the Changewing, had at last settled down but of course it was much too late. The roaring of the dragons would have been bad enough, but Skywolf had briefly turned himself into a flaming beacon that could have been seen from over a mile away, so he definitely drew the attention of every sentry patrolling the ramparts. It was not the most perfect of situations, but at least they were all together again and had hopefully achieved their goal of directing all suspicion about an invasion away from Elydonia.

"I think it's time we left" Fotherington declared as the first of many arrows struck the ground near his feet.

"Agreed; pick a dragon" Hiccup suggested as he hurried back to Toothless where Victor still sat waiting.

Not wanting to get an arrow in his head, or any other tender spot, Fotherington ran over to Stormfly. Astrid helped him up onto the saddle just as Sigrid climbed quickly onto Skywolf's back.

"Where do we go now? Astrid asked her passenger as the four dragons gained height.

"Head back to Baldcrest hill; I'll show you where we left our caravan."

Stormfly led the way as the dragons turned to the south. It was a short trip much to Astrids delight because she had not enjoyed the journey as much on horseback. After following Fotheringtons directions for half an hour, they all set down just off the road slightly north of the hill that had accidently become the centre of all their adventures in New Loren.

"This way" Fotherington dropped down from Stormfly and led them all away from the road and back into the forest where a covered cart was hidden well.

"Get a fire going Victor" he ordered his assistant "and then check on the horses."

"Go see to the horses and don't worry about the fire" Astrid grinned as she looked for a suitable spot."

Soon there was a warm glow in the camp as Stormfly turned a nearby bush into a temporary source of heat and light that Hiccup and Astrid immediately turned into a more permanent campfire by clearing the area around it as well as throwing on some more wood.

"That looks better" Sigrid complimented them "but now I could really use your help."

For the first time since their arrival, Hiccup and Astrid noticed that Sigrid was still sitting up in her saddle, but not for long as she fell to the ground with a thud having fainted because of severe blood loss.

* * *

**At the beginning of chapter 8, I told myself to wrap up Act 1 by chapter 10… yeah right. It looks like happening around chapter 13 now, but we will see. I am now glad that I decided to give Act 1 a good and proper ending because I have just found out that I will be having a couple of minor 'Procedures' later this month involving my eyes and some powerful surgical Lasers, and I don't know how long I will have to stop writing when it is done. But don't worry because I should have this bit of the story finished well before I have to go to the clinic on the 18****th**** of March for, as Homer Simpson once said, "Less yapping; more zapping."**

**Moon says it serves me right for staring at the computer screen for so long instead of rubbing his tummy, but what would he know.**

**Well the next chapter should be done in less than a week and should be a good indicator as to how long the rest of Act 1 will be, so bye bye for now and take good care of your eyes.**

**Love from Marty &amp; Moon (purr).**


	12. Chapter 12

12 Something Old, Something New

The sound of military boots rang from the marble floor and echoed down the entrance hall that led to the throne room. The Emperor waited there with his advisers standing all around him, and several sentries had just left his presence a few minutes before General Karoc strode in looking very concerned.

"I hope you have found an explanation for all of this" Emperor Scias sneered.

"Not err... entirely Your Highness; we have found the place outside the walls where the monsters were fighting but it is very difficult to find anything helpful in the dark. Perhaps in the morning..."

"Yes yes, in the morning" Scias sighed.

Like many powerful people, he was not a patient man and after hearing the sentries report, he wanted answers and he wanted them yesterday.

"Was there any sign at all of what it was the Phoenix was fighting against?"

"Phoenix Your Majesty?" the General looked confused.

"YES PHOENIX" the Emperor yelled back "THE GUARDS INFORMED ME THAT ONE OF THE MONSTERS BLAZED WITH GOLDEN FIRE; WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE BUT A PHOENIX?"

"Of course Your Highness" General Karoc was mentally kicking himself for not instantly agreeing with the Emperor about the idea of a Phoenix straight away and none of the people in the throne room that night had ever heard of a Monstrous Nightmare, or of their ability to set themselves on fire at will.

It was not as if the General did not know about Scias's obsession with all creatures strange and mythical. Many of the powerful and influential people of New Loren were aware that one of the best methods of gaining favour with their leader was to have a collection of rare and interesting animals, particularly the large and dangerous ones. What's more, it was customary that the first of any new species discovered, would be instantly offered to the Emperor for his own private collection. Scias's zoo had at one time or another held the first Snow Tiger, Polar Bear, Salt Water Crocodile and many other unfortunately short lived animals that had been brought to New Loren and never taken care of properly. But the creatures that Emperor Scias craved for more than any others, were the ones that most people believed that he could never have; the creatures of myth and legend. The General believed that these creatures could only be found in paintings and fanciful stories, but not Emperor Scias; he believed in them and he wanted them.

"The sentries reported to me that some of them could hear the sound of giant wings" the Emperor smiled "so what does that tell you?"

"It err... could mean that the Sky Riders have returned."

"YES" the Emperor shook with excitement "and this makes me wonder; what is it exactly that they are riding?"

"A... Phoenix Sir?" the General offered.

"Perhaps they have more than that General; a Griffin, a Pegasus, maybe even a Dragon.

"Oh... err yes Sir."

"I have also been informed that they appeared to be headed... south" the Emperor now looked very excited "and what does that tell you?"

"Baldcrest Hill Highness?"

"YES AGAIN; prepare your men and set out at once. Find out what you can and if possible, bring me one of their creatures."

"Err... yes Your Highness."

"One more thing General... when I say 'if possible', I mean... make... it... possible; do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal Your Majesty" General Karoc replied feeling the pressure "may I request to take the two children that Borges has imprisoned? Their local experience may be helpful."

"I wholeheartedly agree with you General, but unfortunately it seems that Borges foolishly placed them in one of the hanging cages and they were eaten by the Ghost of the Towers... which is why he is not here with us now but is instead up in the very same cage as we speak. Don't fail me General... unless you wish to join him."

"No Your Highness; understood."

* * *

Everything looked fuzzy to Sigrid as she slowly opened her eyes. Her head thumped with pain, the world could not make up its mind whether it was going to spin clockwise or anti-clockwise, and when she tried to speak the only word she manage was "Whalith"; hardly a classic oration by anyone's standard.

"Take it easy" Astrid tried to stop Sigrid from moving "you lost a lot of blood last night and you're lucky to be alive."

Sigrid was normally fond of the warmth she would receive from the morning sun, but today the intense light just gave her a greater headache.

"Whalapuh" she tried again and almost threw up.

"One of the arrows from last night nicked your right forearm" Astrid explained even though she was unsure if Sigrid could understand her yet "It opened up one of those big vanes and even though you held onto it tightly during the flight back, you almost bled to death. We've fixed you up as best we could but you still need rest, and lot's of it."

Astrid looked down at the red bandage "Looks like you won't be swinging a sword for a month or so and when you do, that may be my best change to get the better of you at last."

Sigrid did not try to speak again, but she did smile before she fainted back into a shallow sleep once more, giving Astrid some hope that her friend had indeed understood her. After putting a few more small logs on the fire, Astrid looked back at Sigrid curled up and sleeping peacefully while being warmed and protected by the dragon at her side.

"Good boy Skywolf" she grinned before turning to see yet another dragon, a smaller black one, with its rider asleep at its side.

Astrid sighed and her face flushed with love as she pondered the young man in front of her; she was so proud of him after what had happened last night. When Sigrid had fallen from her saddle, Hiccup jumped into action rushing to her side and quickly assessing the situation. As soon as he noticed all the blood, he tore off his shirt and wrapped it tightly around Sigrids forearm, holding it firmly while barking out orders for bandages, blankets and something strong to clean the wound. The night was very cold so Hiccup had remained awake well into the wee small hours keeping the fire strong, even though Sigrid had the body of her dragon to keep her warm. When Astrid had relieved him, just before first light, she could not help but noticed that he was a little upset. At first this surprised her, but she had pondered on it while he slept and it soon all became clear to her.

Everybody had been shocked by Ivar's death in the Battle of Staggshund, but no one had felt it worse than Hiccup because it was he who had led the Dragon Riders that day and it was he who bore the ultimate responsibility for the outcome. For even though it was a great victory, it had come at a very great price for the Dragon Riders, the people of Staggshund and their enemies.

Everyone was alive today, but Astrid knew that although Hiccup had been strong and resourceful at the time, yesterday he had almost lost the love of his life, a young boy and a good friend all in the space of only a few hours. It was not easy being a leader and having the responsibility for everyones wellbeing sitting firmly on your shoulders, but Hiccup was a good... no... Hiccup was a great leader; she had learnt that fact the day he had led the trainees in the Battle of Dragon Island and defeated the Red Death. That day he had only lost his leg, but in Staggshund... there he had lost a life.

She sat down with the dozing Hiccup and whispered in his ear "I love you, you know."

"Good" he stirred "don't ever stop."

He wriggled a little closer to her and nodded off again with his head in her lap.

* * *

There are not many things in this world that can drastically change the average spider's outlook on life, but when that spider has the ability to read the thoughts and emotions of anyone nearby, and the closest person to him at the present time just happens to be a brave and mighty Viking Shield Maiden/Dragon Rider, then something weird is definitely on the cards.

Dylan strode along on the top of the metal studded leather band that encircled Astrids head and grinned at the world around him (I'll bet you didn't know that spiders could do that). He had just spent the night out hunting and had managed to bag himself a nice mosquito that had expected to have a quick liquid lunch on Astrid's forehead, but had instead ended up as lunch itself. In Dylans mind though, it wasn't a mosquito, it was a roasted chicken and he was not a spider, but a big blue dragon; Astrids thoughts and dreams were having a much greater effect on Dylan than he ever could have imagined.

* * *

Just before noon, Sigrid managed to wake up once more and although she still felt very weak, the world seemed much more coherent to her, so she tried to sit up.

"Ooooh... what happened" she asked as her head continued to ache.

"Look at your arm" Astrid suggested "no... the other arm."

"Oh yeah" Sigrid realised "I forgot; how did that happen again?"

"An arrow."

"Oh... yeah... of course" she stared at her arm with a blank expression "When?"

"Last night"

"Right... where?"

"New Loren Castle."

"Oh" Sigrid fell back with a thump against Skywolf.

"Oh wow... I look awful" she noted as she looked up.

"That's not a mirror" Astrid informed her "that's your dragon."

"In that case I look pretty good" she grinned and drifted off again.

Astrid chuckled a little but her expression soon changed.

"Hiccup" she whispered to the sleeping young man and shook his shoulder "there's someone approaching."

"It's probably just Fothers and Victor coming back from their little scouting trip."

"No... it's someone else... it's almost like..." Astrid stopped and thought, and then she smiled.

"Hello Darius; up to your old tricks again I see?"

"Now that is very annoying" Darius Gershwin huffed as he came closer to the camp "I was really trying to stay hidden that time; how do you do it."

"Never try to 'out stealth' someone who trains with a Deadly Nadder" Hiccup smirked as he stood up and yawned.

"What's a Deadly Nadder?" asked Darius Gershwin the master spy.

Although he had met Stormfly and Toothless the last time Astrid and Hiccup were in New Loren, he was still unschooled about the many different breeds of dragon.

"The Nadder is the blue one sitting next to the..." Hiccup stopped and looked around "hey... where's Ghost?"

"He took off over an hour ago" Astrid informed them "I think he's gone hunting. You're very lucky you didn't meet him out there Darius; Ghost is still a wild dragon and you could have easily ended up as his breakfast."

"I think I did see... well... shall we say... encounter something, because I certainly didn't see it."

"Yeah, Ghost is a Changewing and they have the most amazing powers of camouflage you'll never see; but if he was in your vicinity, then you did a great job in hiding from him" Astrid admitted.

"You may be better than me..."

"Nice to hear you admit it" Astrid grinned.

"...but I'm not completely without skill" Darius looked hurt.

"Alright, I'm sorry; want to join us for lunch?"

"I'd be delighted" he replied sitting down near Toothless who snorted quietly "I've been travelling ever since we last met so it will be nice to have a meal with, I hope you don't mind me saying, friends. So what brings you two and your... hmmm... injured friend back to New Loren? I certainly doubted that I'd ever see you here again so soon."

"Shall we tell him?" Astrid asked.

"May as well" Hiccup shrugged "if we don't, Fothers will."

"Fothers?" Darius look at Hiccup suspiciously.

"Yeah I wanted to ask you; do you know a couple of young guys named Fotherington and Victor?"

"Indeed yes" Darius almost laughed "Fotherington was my apprentice and Victor is his assistant. Where did you meet them?"

"Are you kidding me? Where do all the most fashionable spies hang out in New Loren?"

"Ah... Baldcrest Hill."

"Baldcrest Hill indeed; we sort of press ganged them into helping us with a little task" Hiccup informed him.

"I wouldn't say that Hiccup" Astrid disagreed "they wanted to help."

"So what was this... little task you've been up too?"

"We had a very strong feeling that your Emperor may have believed that our presence was part of an invasion from Elydonia... and it's not, so we've been planting a few seeds of misdirection just to prevent a war; nothing too mischievous."

"The last time we met you went east" Darius looked at them with even more suspicion "but that's not where you're from either, is it?"

"You will have to excuse me Darius, but I don't completely trust you yet so I don't think I will say much more about that. So then, what have you been up to since last we met?"

"I have been checking into what you've been up to" the elder spy laughed "Lurking in the south of New Loren, doing your own spying in a fishing village, fighting with traders, and you don't trust me?"

"Yeah... okay... we did do all that... but it was kind of necessary."

"Don't worry I understand; if you hadn't released those dragons you can be sure that at least one of them would have ended up with Emperor Scias and even though I used to indirectly work for him, I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw a warship."

"Is that a hobby of yours?" Hiccup grinned.

"I had the distinct displeasure of meeting this Emperor Scias yesterday" Astrid informed Darius "as well as General Karoc and a nasty piece of work named..."

"Not Borges?" Darius was startled.

"Oh... you know him then?"

"At one time I was going to train him, but he was too... well I'd rather not say."

"Psychotic?" Astrid offered.

"You said it, I didn't" Darius Agreed "Well then... you're lucky to be still alive... and intact."

"Thanks to Victor; he posed as my younger brother and covered for me when I couldn't answer their questions properly. Ghost scared Borges away before he could really get started on the torture and then Hiccup and Toothless got us out of the castle."

"Wait a minute; are you telling me that the dragon you called Ghost, the err... Changewing, is really The Ghost of the Tower?"

"He sure is... or was."

This conversation would have gone on for a lot longer had it not been for the return of Darius's former pupils. Without trying to hide their approach in the slightest, the two young men burst into the camp with important news.

"We've got important news" Fotherington declared but then he saw the smiling man at the campfire "Milord; when did you..."

"Good day Fothers" the master grinned.

"Oh not you too" Fotherington glared at Hiccup "I blame you for this."

* * *

**For me, the most surprising thing about this chapter, is that I managed to belt it out in one day (even though it did need a lot of polishing later) but I have been working on chapter 13 for three days now and it still isn't even half done yet. Writing is a weird hobby.**


	13. Chapter 13

13 Something Borrowed, Something Red

Although Hiccup and Astrid wanted to hear the important news that Fotherington and Victor had brought them, the Dragon Riders did have other priorities.

"Unless we're about to be attacked" Hiccup declared "your news can wait for a minute or two; did you get the milk?"

"What? Oh… yes Victor has it" Fotherington informed them as Astrid moved to retrieve it from the boy "got some fresh dried beef too; that should help."

Stirring Sigrid from her patchy slumber was not difficult, and soon Astrid had her friend drinking from the small bladder of a kind usually used for water or wine.

"This will help you get some of your strength back… eventually" Astrid smiled.

"Hmm, it's good" Sigrid declared as she finished off the fresh cow juice "but I think I'd better rest a bit longer."

"I agree" Hiccup agreed "I also think we should postpone the wedding."

"MY WEDDING!" Sigrid jumped up and then fell down again as her legs turned half liquid.

"Whoa there" Astrid did her best to catch the dizzy warrior and set her down softly "you have a big mouth, Hiccup."

"Whoops, sorry. So what's the big news Fothers?"

"I don't care if you do have a dragon; if you keep calling me Fothers, one of these days…" he shook his fist in Hiccup's face causing Toothless to growl menacingly "OH SHUT UP YOU BIG FAT SALAMANDER."

"I'm sorry... Fotherington" Hiccup chuckled at the surprised look on Toothless' face "so what news do you have for us?"

"That's better" Fotherington huffed "All morning, on our way to and from the farm where we got the stuff, and when we were scouting around, men on horseback have been coming and going from Baldcrest Hill. They've set up a camp at the bottom and it looks like there are men at the top, as well as search parties going off in all directions. They are sticking to the roads for now, but I think it's only a matter of time before they start looking in the forests and searching all the farms."

"And when they do…" Hiccup realised.

"Exactly, we'll all be found and captured."

"General Karoc is in command as well" Victor added.

"Time to go then" Astrid stood "can you guys give me a hand with this armour plated jellyfish?"

She was still very weak but Sigrid did manage to get up into her saddle with only slight help, although she did it rather slowly. She claimed that she would be fine riding Skywolf now that she was sitting down but Astrid and Hiccup both insisted that she be tied down with four ropes running from her belt to the hooks of her saddle so if she should faint again, she would not fall off; Victor even bound her feet to the stirrups.

"You look... how can I say it?" Astrid giggled.

"Don't" Sigrid replied as she slowly rocked back and forth "Just get me back to Bolthorn."

Astrid sighed as Hiccup slapped his forehead with his palm. All that effort to direct all attention away from Elydonia was just ruined.

"I suppose I'll have to kill you all now" Hiccup joked to Fotherington.

"Well do what you must..." Darius started.

"I'm just kidding" Hiccup protested.

"...but I know that you are not Elydonian even though you have been... shall we say... hiding the truth from us."

"It sounds so much better than lying" Hiccup agreed.

"So what exactly do you know?" Astrid asked.

"That doesn't matter now, just get on your dragons and go... and try to trust me... just a little bit."

"Sorry Darius but you must realise that the only reason that I'm going along with this, is that I'm running low on choices... and time, so please... I beg you; don't let the Emperor know that we're going north. For what it's worth, I can honestly say that we will be taking our dragons' home after the wedding so you've got nothing to fear about an attack from Elydonia."

"You may not trust me" Darius declared "but I trust you so please... go."

"Astrid, you get going with Sigrid" Hiccup ordered "Toothless and I will try and find Ghost, and then stir up General Karoc a bit so he won't come looking around here and find the boys."

"Thank you" Darius smiled.

"Mind if we swap tasks Babe?" Astrid enquired "I think Ghost will more be likely to listen to me."

After Sigrid's injury and the whole tower cage fiasco with Astrid and Victor, Hiccup really wanted his friends away and safe but he could not help but agree with her.

"Okay, but no unnecessary risks... in fact no necessary ones either."

"I love you too" Astrid grinned as she climbed into her saddle "give me a few minutes before you take off."

Hiccup went to check on Sigrid as Stormfly vanished into the forest and Skywolf turned his mighty head around to some checking of his own. He sniffed at the dozing woman tied down on his back as Hiccup inspected taught bandage around Sigrids forearm; it looked okay and so Hiccup turned his attention to the concerned dragon.

"She'll be better in a few days Skywolf; just fly steady and we'll all get back safe and sound."

The dragon purred but Hiccup could tell that Skywolf was just as worried as he was considering how pale Sigrid appeared.

"I hope you won't take this the wrong way" Hiccup smiled as he shook hands with the three generations of spies "but I hope I never see any of you again."

"Well that wasn't very nice" Victor commented soon after when Toothless and Skywolf had disappeared into the clouds.

"Oh don't be too hard on him Victor" Fotherington chuckled "he's a young man with a lot on his mind."

"And imagine how disappointed he will be when his wish fails to come true" Darius agreed.

"So you think he will see us again sir?" Victor asked.

"He will if I have any say in it."

"Just one question Milord" Fotherington asked "is you name really..."

"Darius Gershwin? Yes it is M'boy; surprised?"

"Well... yes, just a tad."

"How much is a tad?" Victor enquired.

"A touch more than a smidgin" Fotherington replied.

* * *

It was not very often that Astrid was able to experience so closely, Stormfly's uncanny ability to move her massive bulk along the ground with barely any audible sound because the young lady was usually trying her level best to escape the dragon during one of their games. She would never admit to anyone that they were games; instead Astrid would insist that they were important training sessions and it was not her fault if everyone else in Berk treated them as competitions to be wagered on.

Of course there was nothing to be seen in the forest, because the Changewing always hunted fully camouflaged so Astrid sat high in her saddle with her eyes firmly shut and just listened. There was not even any need for her to direct Stormfly, for as soon as she heard anything moving in the distance, the dragon would already be turning towards the sound and advancing; and so it was that after ten minutes of searching, the stealthy pair located the Changewing feasting on a wild boar. Ghost looked up in surprise and growled. He was not used to having others sneak up on him unnoticed especially since he was the one who could camouflage himself into near invisibility.

"Hey there Ghost" Astrid dropped down from her saddle and gave Stormfly the sign to sit "we're heading off now; do you want to join us?"

Astrid looked up at the Changewing as he devoured the last of his meal; he pondered the girl standing nearby and tried to clarify the mixed feelings swimming around inside his head. Unknown to both girl and dragon, a small spider was also in their midst and he was having much more influence over the situation that either of them would have liked. Dylan looked quite a sight with his mosquito wing shoulder armour and his eyelash sword. He now saw himself as a spider no longer, but as the mightiest eight legged Viking warrior who had ever lived (and indeed he was... for the most obvious reason).

The Changewing stared at Astrid for a moment while trying to understand what was going on. The girl's voice was sweet and calm just as it had been on the tower roof where he had first encountered her, but the feeling, the vibe, the message that he was receiving from her direction was one of heroism, valour and duty. 'Come with me noble beast and we shall seek action and adventure as we explore the world together' was the gist of the message and although it did confuse the poor dragon, he was not about to be left behind wondering about opportunities missed.

* * *

The cool wind in her face was doing wonders for Sigrid. She was still feeling dizzy and the buffeting air inside the clouds made her feel a little nauseous, but her skin was tingling and it was nice to have any kind of feeling back again.

"How are you doing over there?" Hiccup called out.

Sigrid was not able to answer directly, but she did give Hiccup a big smile. She tried to wave as well but her limp arm got caught in the wind and just blew back over her head. Hiccup was glad that they insisted on tying her down as she half flopped over in the saddle.

"She looks so drunk" he mumbled to himself.

* * *

If Hiccup was aware of what she was doing, then Astrid knew that he'd be angry but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him... or her. Ghost of course, was completely invisible high over Baldcrest Hill, but Stormfly had to hover carefully near the edge of a cloud while Astrid considered what she should do. She had a pretty good idea as to how Hiccup would go about this task; he would circle around out of arrow range and have Toothless roar loudly a few times to get the attention of General Karoc and his soldiers both on top of the hill, and in the camp below. He would then slowly alter his flight to the southwest until he was sure that they were moving in the direction that he wanted them to go, and then he and Toothless would zoom off to the horizon before turning north. It was a good plan, but it would not achieve what Astrid really wanted.

"I glad Hiccup didn't work out the real reason why I wanted to do this" she patted Stormfly's flank "but I don't know how I'm gonna get it done without a good distraction."

Little did Astrid know, but her desire for a distraction was immediately picked up, understood and transmitted from the spider in her headband to the invisible dragon flying nearby. Although the message was changed a little in translation, it did have the right effect as Ghost dove down towards the top of Baldcrest Hill setting a few trees ablaze as he levelled off.

'Go my noble steed' the strange voice echoed inside his head 'and drive away these intruders; send them fleeing in fear.'

The fear was instantaneous, but the fleeing took a minute or so. The soldiers searching the top of the hill were stunned by the loud roar and sudden eruption of fire and the fact that they could not see where it was all coming from truly terrified them. A few of them shot off an arrow or two in the general direction of all the action but Ghost could plainly see that they were not aiming anywhere near him.

"Oh this is just brilliant" Astrid grinned as she watched the confusion happening below her.

As the men became more confused, they began to run off down the hill on all sides giving Astrid her chance.

"Come on Stormfly" she set the dragon on a course straight down into the trees that surrounded the top of the hill. The two of them were only on the ground for less than thirty seconds before they shot up into the sky once more.

"Good work Ghost; you're amazing" she called out as the Changewing took up a position to her left "Right then; time to draw them away from Darius and the boys."

Astrid leant down forward in her saddle so she would not be seen by the General and his men before she and Stormfly dove down again, but this time towards the camp at the bottom of the hill. This action was a bit more drastic than Hiccup would have done but Astrid's heart was still racing after her dash to the top of the hill and besides, why should Ghost have all the fun?

The two dragons roared as they flew through the military camp only a few feet over the tops of the tents and the wash from their wings even tore a few from the ground and sent them tumbling. Before anyone had time to react, the dragons were again climbing and were soon twice as high as the hilltop. At last Astrid began the task of misdirecting, and began to move to the southwest; she could not help but laugh at the sight of confusion and panic as soldiers ran around below while trying to make some sense about what was going on. After another several minutes of circling, Astrid was sure that all eyes were well and truly on the dragons and so she turned them towards the sun and flew slowly away, satisfied in the knowledge that Darius, Fotherington and Victor would also be safely away by now.

"Come on then" she smiled at the dragons as they crossed the coast "let's get going to Bolthorn Castle."

* * *

**Not many chapters to go and I am starting to get nervous about the impending eye ops. I also have this year's Tax Return in front of me and every time I have to deal with the Tax Department (or Internal Revenue as it's called in the U.S.) I get worried that I'm about to get arrested for fraud even though I do declare all income (they just have this reputation for being mean and bureaucratic). With so many things around to make me anxious, I just wish that Moon would stop staring at me like that.**


	14. Chapter 14

14 Do You Take This Viking

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?" Kylan shouted as Toothless and Skywolf set down outside the Bolthorn Castle stables "AND WHERE'S ASTRID?"

"She should be along soon" Hiccup answered "I hope."

"Wait a minute" Kylan just noticed the brides condition "what's wrong with Sigrid... AND WHY IS SHE TIED DOWN."

"Now don't panic; she had a little accident and by accident, I mean that she accidently got shot by an accidental arrow" Hiccup informed those nearby.

"Tis but a scratch" Sigrid grinned while still appearing tipsy.

"Is she drunk?" Kylan continued the interrogation.

"No... just drowsy; she lost a lot of blood last night."

"Oh this is just great; the King is already going out of his mind, but when he hears about this..."

"Don't you worry about Joric" Sigrid giggled "he'll be fine once we get on our honeymoon; grrrrowl."

"Oh no, she's passed out again" Hiccup sighed.

"You two" Kylan pointed to some guards "get Sigrid off that dragon and to the anteroom."

Hiccup sighed and shook his head as Kylan moved forward to cut the ropes that held Sigrids waist and feet; why was it that all the women he knew carried knives, even when they were dressed up for a wedding? If he believed that everything was going to be alright once the Dragon Riders got back to Bolthorn Castle, then Hiccup was in for a big disappointment, but he was pleased when Astrid and her dragons finally appeared ten minutes later.

"Hey Babe" Astrid smiled when she noticed Dianta was standing with him.

"I figured that with another dragon in the mix we could really do with some help keeping them all calm during the wedding" Hiccup informed her "so I asked Dianta if she minded missing the main ceremony.

"Good idea" Astrid nodded.

Hiccup seemed happy, but then his countenance changed somewhat "Wait a minute, what are you wearing?"

"What do you mean Hiccup? This is just the same old stuff... and that reminds me; I'd better go and get changed for the wedding."

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE YOUNG LADY" Astrid was a little worried; Hiccup had never spoken to her like that before.

"Yes Hiccup; did you want something?" she smiled innocently.

"I thought I told you... not To Take ANY RISKS."

"What are you talking about... err... honey?"

"Don't you honey me" Hiccup fumed.

"Sweetie? Sugar plum perhaps?"

"I can't believe you went back to Baldcrest Hill for your shoulder armour; WHAT IF YOU'D GOTTEN CAUGHT? YOU WERE ALL ALONE BACK THERE!"

"I didn't take any BIG risks" she lied a bit "I was flying high above the hill when Ghost suddenly started swooping down on the soldiers, burning some trees and causing a lot of confusion so while they were all running around like headless chickens, I just swooped in and..." Hiccup grabbed the sides of Astrids head softly but firmly and stared deeply into her eyes.

"Don't... take... such... risks" he demanded before kissing her so passionately, that her legs soon became as weak as Sigrid's.

"Umm... okay" she grinned a minute later "no risk taking thereof."

"Make sure Dianta's okay with Ghost an then go and get ready" Hiccup ordered before kissing her forehead and stomping off in a huff.

"Gee I'll bet it's nice to be loved like that" Dianta grinned.

"Oh be still my beating heart" Astrid smiled "now then, let's see how Ghost reacts to you."

Dylan pondered the dragons as Astrid and Dianta strode by them; the first one they passed was Skywolf.

'The lady's dragon' Dylan thought as the girls walked on towards Toothless 'and the boys dragon.'

Stormfly dozed on the ground as her rider passed by 'The girl's dragon' Dylan nodded.

'And... the spider's dragon' he smirked as he leapt off of Astrid's headband and onto Ghosts nose.

If Astrid and Dianta could hear on the micro level, they would have been very surprised to hear Astrid's favourite Viking battle song and if one of them happened to have a magnifying glass, they may have noticed that a strange looking web was slowly taking shape between the Changewings eyestalks. It was far from a normal web and it bore a striking resemblance to the kind of vertical boat hull houses that one would find in a certain Viking village, located firmly on the meridian of misery.

* * *

After a few minutes of introductions, during which even Astrid was surprised at how calm and cooperative Ghost was acting, the time came for Dianta and four handpicked guards (who all happened to be from the town of Staggshund) to prepare the dragons for the ceremony while Astrid went to change her clothes. She only made it halfway through the stables when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an empty stall. She instantly reacted like the warrior she was and prepared for a fight by twisting her arm free and stomping hard on her attackers foot.

"That doesn't hurt you know" Hiccup admitted although he was glad that she didn't get him on the right foot... which would have been the wrong foot.

"Hiccup! What are you doing?" Astrid started.

"I... I wanted to apologise" he took her hands in his "I shouldn't have shouted at you like that and..."

"Hey" Astrid decided to shut him up by kissing him again "we've been through this before Babe and I would have to be pretty stupid not to see that you were just worried about me."

"Yeah but... it's like... well... I trust you and all but... when I'm not there... and I don't know what's happening..."

"I understand" she kissed his cheek "and I forgive you this time... but just watch your step or I'm marrying Snotlout instead."

"Ha" Hiccup laughed as she walked off "I'd like to see that... err no... wait a minute... no I wouldn't."

* * *

Anyone who has ever tried to organise a wedding will know just how difficult and stressful it can be, but when the bride is a Viking warrior, the stress level definitely goes up a bit. When that same bride keeps threatening to pass out at any time, you can safely elevate the stress levels at least three smidgens, plus an extra tad and a half if there is a government official involved... and there was.

BANG BANG BANG!

"You've had plenty of time to get changed, now I demand that you let me back in."

Yolon DeGroot Esquire thumped his fist on the anteroom door a few more times until Kylan at last slid back the bolt and allowed him access. DeGroot had a very important task in Elydonia, or so he would always tell everyone.

"Without me, our heritage would be lost" was what he always told anyone who would listen.

He said it so much, that he really should have had it printed on a t-shirt, if it were not for the fact that nobody wore t-shirts in those days. Yolon DeGroot Esq. was the man in charge of all the items of great significance in Elydonia. If a certain sword had been used in a certain battle by a certain hero, then DeGroot had it, kept it safe, and knew all of its history from the time of its first creation (including the history of whoever created it) and the objects entire useful life, all the way through to how it came to be in the Royal Collection as well as any subsequent ceremonial use thereafter.

"OH MY GOD! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

And that was why DeGroot was now standing in the doorway of the anteroom adjacent to the throne room in Bolthorn Castle on the event of the marriage of Sigrid the Strong, fairest of all the Viking Warrior Maidens of Berk (or so Joric thought every time he looked at her) to King Joric the Fifth of Bolthorn (the lucky bastard); for it was DeGroot who had provided the Wedding Dress from the afore mentioned Royal Collection.

Kylan only wanted to get Sigrid out of her armour, cleaned up a bit and into the dress before the wedding guests started asking for a toilet break because they had been waiting for several hours for the ceremony to begin, but DeGroot had gone on and on about how important the dress was and how careful they needed to be. His admonitions had included a very long and drawn out story of how the dress had been first worn by Princess Thingummy before being altered to fit Lady Whosit and then repaired after she had tripped over the train and ripped it. And if that wasn't boring enough, the whole story of how it had almost been destroyed in the Great Fire of Port Yoric was included before Kylan finally managed to get him out of the room and start on Sigrid (who had slept through most of the story anyway).

"We didn't mean to" Kylan apologised for the blood red stain on the sleeve of the dress "one of the pearls got caught in her bandage, and seriously; who makes a wedding dress with such long tight sleeves?"

"She must take it off immediately" DeGroot insisted "I must soak that sleeve before the blood dries."

"Oh no you don't" Kylan threatened "I've got a knife here and if you try to take this dress, it will end up with more blood on it... YOURS."

"THE KING WILL HEAR OF THIS" DeGroot did some threatening of his own before he stormed off.

"I kind of think he'll notice" Kylan shrugged as she turned to Sigrid "Oh will you please wake up?"

* * *

It had taken a lot of effort, but the time had finally come. Hiccup had also encountered a few delays while getting ready when King Joric had insisted on a full and detailed explanation as to why they were so late (he had expected them to return the previous night) and how his future wife had been almost killed.

"You'll have plenty of time to hear about all that later, but now I have to get going" Hiccup told him before hurrying off to the anteroom.

Joric just sighed and went to take his place in front of the throne after apologising again to the guests.

"You look amazing" Hiccup declared to the beautiful bridesmaid in her cream, sleeveless, high waisted satin dress.

"I still feel naked in this thing" Astrid replied but she always said that when she was not permitted to wear her shoulder armour or carry her battleaxe... and she had tried to get away with both before Kylan forbade her with threats of violence.

Sigrid was doing her very best to walk unaided but Hiccup and Astrid were not about to let go of her, just in case and even though Kylan was supposed to be following at a distance, she could not help moving closer with her hands out... just in case.

"I know you're supposed to walk behind us" Hiccup said to Astrid "but I think you'd better stay by her side... just in case."

"I think your right" Astrid agreed as Sigrid stumbled again "just in case."

Hiccup signalled the conductor to start when they all reached the main entrance to the throne room and a few seconds later, fifteen long brass horns began the Royal Elydonian Bridal Fanfare.

"Okay then... here we go" Sigrid straightened up and tripped over her own foot, but fortunately her fellow Dragon Riders were ready to support her as they began their journey down the aisle... only four and a half hours late.

To Sigrid, the floor of the throne room was more like the deck of a ship and with every step if felt as if it were pitching up in a different direction. It seemed very appropriate to her then, that the brides side of the room was almost entirely made up of the crew of the Noble Pigg; the ship that had first brought Sigrid and Astrid to Elydonia when they had been kidnapped by the former Prince Nainn. Sigrid scanned the crowd while Hiccup and Astrid did their best to keep her going straight. She could see Farg Ponomon, one of the men who had kept her under guard, sitting with his fellow sailor Toki, who could not stop crying with joy. Further forward were Gauk and Karin, Dianta's parents with Hak and several villagers from Staggshund. The King's brother, Godfred Thorn and Sigfus Jolfson his closest advisor, stood with King Joric as Best Man and Groomsman respectively and standing in front of the throne, ready to perform the ceremony, was none other than Lord Boron who would forever hold the record as the man who had the shortest ever reign as King in Elydonia, a position that he held for several days only, and also the only man ever to abdicate voluntarily.

Hiccup was supposed to simply give Sigrids hand to Joric before stepping back to the side, but instead he had to lean her against the King and move back with care... just in case.

* * *

**I finished this chapter on the evening of the 12th of March and then went to bed. I awoke the next morning to the sad news about the death of my all time favourite author, Sir Terry Pratchett. I can highly recommend his books to anyone who loves a good fantasy story and a good laugh; honestly they are so funny. My favourite book of Terry's is 'Guards! Guards!' and it has dragons in it... well... tiny ones anyway. Only this great man could come up with a flat planet populated by people whose idea of a Space Program is to lower a wizard in a basket, from a crane over the edge of the world and a medieval computer with the words 'Anthill Inside' marked on it**

**He also came up with many memorable characters including Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, who at six feet six inches in height, is the world's tallest dwarf and Susan the part time nanny, monster fighter and the granddaughter of Death himself, who incidentally rides a white horse named Binky (Binky is a living horse because when Death rode a skeletal steed, he kept having to stop and wire bits back on. Death also tried a fiery steed, but it repeatedly set his barn and his robe on fire). The Death of Rats also features in some of his books and is known as the Grim Squeaker.**

**R.I.P. Terry; you are already sadly missed.**


	15. Chapter 15

15 Fly Me To The Honeymoon

"HALT" the soldier demanded of the man driving the small enclosed wagon.

"Who's that out there?" a frail and elderly voice called out from inside.

"DON'T WORRY DAD, ITS JUST A CHECKPOINT" the driver called over his shoulder before addressing the soldier "Sorry about that sir, my old father is a bit hard of hearing... and rather cranky."

"Step down from the wagon peasant."

"Certainly sir, right away sir" the nervous driver declared as he obeyed the order.

"Why have we stopped?" the frail voice continued "let's get a going."

"No grandpa, wait" a younger voice was heard pleading as the back of the wagon opened up.

A hump backed, crusty old man half fell down the back step while his grandson tried desperately to stop him by pulling on his left arm."

"Oh no... DAD, GET BACK IN THE WAGON; I am sorry about this sir."

"Where are you headed to peasant" the soldier enquired "and where have you come from?"

"Err my sister and her husband have a farm another half days journey from here and... well it's her turn to look after dad for the next two years. We've come up from..."

"Who are you talking to there, and when are we getting home?"

"You're not going home grandpa" the young boy insisted as he was dragged along by the recalcitrant senior citizen "you're going to stay with Auntie Nancy for a while."

"WHAT? I don't want to go to Nancy's, not since she married that boring fart..."

"DAD! Show some respect; this Imperial Soldier needs to ask us some questions."

"Yes I do" the soldier agreed "now where did you say you had come from?"

"IMPERIAL SOLDIER? I used to be a Captain in the Imperial Army; I fought in three wars" the old man declared while holding up four fingers.

"Yes that's right Dad" the driver turned the old man back towards the wagon while the boy continue to pull on his arm "and that's why the soldiers here wanted to thank you for all that you've done in service to your country... Isn't that right?"

"What? Oh... yes" the soldier decided to help the driver with his father while his colleagues giggled several feet away at the checkpoint "thank you for your meritorious service sir."

"Don't you know how to salute a superior officer sonny?" the old man lunged back towards the now saluting soldier.

"That's enough Dad."

"Way more than enough" the boy whispered to the old man "now get back in the wagon and give it a rest... grandpa."

"Was he really a Captain who fought in three wars?" the soldier asked as the old man got back inside the wagon.

"He was in the army... and he was a corporal who cooked for the men who did fight in three wars... and you can be sure that when he next tells someone about his time in the service of His most Imperial Majesty, he'll probably be a Major at the very least."

"I understand peasant... I had a great grandfather the same way; now where have you..."

"Oh yes... sorry... a few miles east of Throcton Moor."

"And have you seen anything unusual on your journey?"

"You mean apart from me dad in his long johns?" but the soldier was not impressed "err no I haven't... sorry."

"Very well then, be on your way and if you do see anything flying about..."

"Flying?"

"Yes, flying; then report it to the nearest garrison without delay" the soldier ordered.

"Yes sir... I will sir" and with that, the driver climbed back onto the wagon and continued along the road north.

"That went well" the old man commented.

"I still think you over did it" the driver huffed.

"Oh come on Fothers, lighten up."

"I'll get you for this Hiccup" Fotherington fumed.

* * *

The ceremony had gone off quite well all things considered; the guests had smiled, sighed and a few even cried (Toki the loudest) when King Joric had said "I do" and many had giggled when the bride said "You bet your arse I do" before falling forward and being caught by Lord Boron. It is customary in many societies for the groom to carry the bride into their home after the wedding, but Joric found it necessary to carry Sigrid all the way back down the aisle and to the gold braided carriage waiting in front of the palace for their short journey through the city to be welcomed by the cheering crowds. Between the top of the palace steps and the door of the carriage, four dragons stood tall and roared loudly in salute while a tiny spider shouted an unheard blessing to the King and Queen from atop the horn of the Changewing. The people of the city were delighted to see the happy couple as they passed by waving even though, because the bride was so late, they had to tour by torchlight giving the crowd the look of an angry lynch mob, only without the pitchforks.

Later that evening, Queen Sigrid was thoroughly enjoying the royal reception, even though she was only permitted to drink fruit juice because of her weakened condition, and was she constantly shouting 'HERE HERE' every time someone made an official toast. All the guests found this very amusing, especially when they were raising their glasses to her, but it was even funnier when it was Sigrid who was making the toast, and she cried out in agreement with herself.

"If this is what she is like now" Sigfus Jolfson said aside to Kylan "I can't wait to see what she's like after a few drinks."

As the festivities continued into the evening, another young couple snuck out of the reception room and onto one of the small balconies to enjoy the moonlight and each other's company away from the maddening crowd. They danced to the music coming from inside their hearts, kissed long and deep until the moon began to blush, and then spooned under the stars while wishing that this moment would never end. Looking down from the balcony, Astrid noticed a man sitting on the palace steps across the square where a few hours ago, four dragons had stood saluting the King and Queen.

"Hey look... isn't that the guy Kylan was telling us about?"

"I think so" Hiccup replied "he sure looks upset."

"Pity we can't help him" Astrid sighed.

"Actually... I think I can."

"Well then babe... maybe you should. I think it's about time I went to bed anyway; the last few days have been non-stop and I've had it." She went to leave but Hiccup wouldn't let go of her hand.

"Wait... I don't want you to go... not tonight."

Astrid was glad that the light was so low; she did not want him to see her face turning red.

"You know how much I love you" she admitted as she hugged him once more "but I'm not sure if I'm ready... not ready to be tied down to a family... not yet."

"I understand... but stay... please?"

"Go and talk to grumpy DeGroot" she kissed his cheek and smiled before she walked back inside.

* * *

As much as he did not want to, General Karoc knew that he must report to the Emperor all that had occurred at Baldcrest Hill that afternoon and just hope that Scias was in a very forgiving mood. A good twenty minutes had passed since his arrival back at the palace before the Emperor conceded to see him.

"I noticed that when you returned General, you had not brought me what I requested."

"Err no Your most Imperial Majesty, but I do have something to report and it may help us to achieve success in the future."

"Tell me more General; you have piqued my interest."

"This afternoon I had my first true encounter with these incredible creatures..."

"WHAT WERE THEY MAN?" the Emperor leapt from his throne.

"I do believe they were dragons Your Majesty."

"Dragons" Scias's eyes lit up.

"Yes sir; one was big and blue with spikes down its back and all over its tail and the other appeared to be reddish brown but it could change colours to blend in and hide so..."

"Were there riders on them?"

"I did not see any but they attacked so fast..."

"Which way did they go General?"

"Southwest sir... and the men I had out scouring the area said that they disappeared out over the ocean without setting down again."

The Emperor sat back on his throne and stroked his chin "I want search orders sent out to every corner of the empire and all major projects are to be halted at once. The size of the Imperial Fleet is to be doubled... no tripled as soon as possible."

"By your leave Highness" the General left relieved to be given a long term task rather than an immediate trip to the tower.

* * *

"Hey there" Hiccup greeted Yolon DeGroot Esq.

"You're one of those... Vikings aren't you" DeGroot sneered.

"Yup... and you look a little upset" Hiccup noted as he sat down.

"UPSET? OF COURSE I'M UPSET; YOUR... FRIEND HAS RUINED THE WEDDING DRESS OF TERESA VAN SORIANO AND... and it will never be the same again" he sighed as his head dropped.

"Look... I'm really very sorry about the dress and all..."

"You're sorry?" DeGroot huffed.

"...but if what I'm told is true, you are the keeper of a large collection of many important items that hold great historic value; isn't that right?"

"So you think that if I have so many things, that I should just laugh it off if one of them is destroyed? I'm sorry boy but I take my task much more seriously than that."

"No that's not what I'm saying at all. What I mean is this; I am told that you know the history of every item in the Royal Collection and I'm sure that there is nothing in there, which is in the same pristine condition as it was the day it was made."

"Well... no but..."

"And I am also led to believe that the dress has been damaged before."

"Yes the train was torn once but that was when it was being used during a very important historical event, not for a modern..."

"Stop right there" Hiccup interrupted DeGroot "when the dress was torn, it was not a historical event at the time, and today was just as important. Think about it; from this day forward you will be able to tell people not only of things that occurred before we were born, but also about modern history. Your were not present when the dress was torn, but you were there the day that the King of Elydonia was married to a Viking warrior who was injured, almost fatally, the day before her wedding while attempting to prevent an invasion from the powerful New Loren Empire... and she succeeded. That is why there are blood stains on the dress and that... is history in the making."

Yolon DeGroot Esq. sat quietly for a few minutes and pondered what he had just been told before he stood and turned to look at the young man next to him. Hiccup looked up and noticed the moisture in the man's eyes glistening in the moonlight.

"Thank you" DeGroot declared and simply walked off.

Hiccup smiled to himself and decided to check on the dragons before he would return to the palace. He found them all sleeping peacefully not in the stable itself, but out in the grassed area near the wall. Dianta was till at her post but was also sleeping soundly in the middle of the beasts wrapped in a canvas sheet and with covered by Stormflys wing.

"Hey bud" Hiccup greeted his dragon when it stirred after having noticed his presence "you go back to sleep Toothless; I'm very proud of you and all that you've done ever since we left Berk last month."

The Night Fury purred as it lowered its head and dozed once more and Hiccup moved over to look at Ghost. He could not understand why such a skittish, unpredictable and territorial dragon as a Changewing, would so quickly join them and fit in with nearly no effort or training. He may have found it easier to understand if only he could have seen the tiny vikingish spider standing on the dragon's nose as it drew its sword (made from web strand wrapped around one of Astrid's eyelashes) and saluted the young man who it now considered to be its future chief thanks to Astrid's mental influence.

* * *

Back home on Berk, anyone that the Dragon Master passed by on his was home would simply greet him with a smile and a cheery 'Hey there Hiccup' and he was beginning to look forward to getting home and hearing such words once more. Astrid was enjoying all the respect and attention but as Hiccup rounded another corner in the Bolthorn Castle Palace, he cringed as the two sentries snapped to attention and barked "Good evening Lord Hiccup."

"Good evening men" he replied "as you were."

The Yak skin on his bedroom floor was nowhere near as fine as the woven rug in his room in the palace, and it smelt a bit too but he was still looking forward to rubbing all five of his toes into its soft fur in another few days... hopefully. Hiccup splashed some water on his face and wiped it with the towel on the bedside table; sitting down on the edge of the bed, he looked up around the room and sighed. He was actually glad that this would be his last night in this luxurious but uninviting room.

"What have you got to sigh about when there's such a beautiful woman in your bed?"

"AAARGH!" Hiccup jumped up, his heart racing "ASTRID... you scared me half to death."

"You were the one who asked me to stay."

"But you... and then I..."

"Well that explains why you took so long; well then... how did it go with DeGroot?"

"What? Oh... fine... but I'll tell you all about later."

"Good idea, now don't just stand there with your chin on the floor" she winked.

"Huh... hmm" Hiccups heart raced.

He had spent many nights with Astrid before, but always with the other riders or camped out with the dragons. This time, as he got himself ready... and stared at her bare shoulders, he knew this was very... very different.

"WHOO! Your hands are cold" Astrid giggled as he slipped into bed.

"Just be glad that I took my leg off" he smirked

"Oh I am, well... goodnight Babe."

"I don't know about you Astrid, but I'm not that sleepy yet."

"Me neither" she admitted as she blew out the candle.

Astrid could not help but smile at the thought; Sigrid had the wedding, but she got the honeymoon.

* * *

**One more day till my first eye operation so I am pleased to have Act 1 finished with plenty of time for polishing. I've started on Act 2 but don't expect to see any of it this month. A new idea hit me last week for the next instalment of the Year One stories and I've already got several hundred words down for that (it's a funny little Ruff and Tuff tale) so look for that one to appear in early to mid April.**

**Thanks again to everyone for reading, and to fanficfan71 and Midoriko-sama (although sometimes I think I should refer to you as Midoriko Chan) for your reviews and PM's.**

**Love to all from me and Moon and I'll see you all again when I can see again, Marty ;-)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello everybody; it's good to be back. I haven't quite finished this story but I do have 19 chapters done so I think it's safe to start publishing again. I have mentioned before that this would be my last long dragon story but who knows for sure; it depends on whether or not I can keep my current ideas as shorts, and how I go with my non-dragon stories. Hope you all enjoy this adventure, and I'll try to have the next chapter up by the weekend... and don't forget to review :-D**

* * *

Act Two: Nautical But Nice  
(eight months later)

16 Just a little Hiccup

Very slowly and carefully, the long tube was fitted onto the end of the Yak skin leather bag and then inserted deep inside the crack that ran down the rock wall in the cave under the village. The tube had been developed from a hollow reed by Gobber and Hiccup, along with the valve that was opened a quarter turn before the bag lightly squeezed. A slight hint of green gas seeped out from the rock signalling to Hiccup that enough had been injected and it was time to close the valve once more. Finally he removed the nozzle from the rock and hurried to exit the cave.

"Light it up" he called as he joined his friends around the corner on the rock cliff.

"Okay Flint; let her rip" Gobber ordered the Terrible Terror, who blew a small shot of yellow flame onto the end of the twine; it instantly began to crackle and burn out from behind the rock and into the cave.

What followed after could only be described as dull, yet thunderous and when the last of the pieces of rock had fallen into the bay, and the dust from the explosion had begun to clear, the three person demolition team removed their hands from their ears and arose from their hiding place and stepped forward to admire their handiwork.

"We may need to give it a few minutes but I'd call that one a big success" declared the only member of the team with all her original limbs.

"I heard the explosion" Fishlegs was bouncing with excitement as Hiccup approached "so... did everything go according to plan?"

"You'll be happy to know that your new Nightmare sweat fuse worked a treat" Hiccup informed his friend as he re-entered the village.

"But if you ever get the chance to play around with the mixture, I'd prefer one that burned a little slower; a pace that even Gobber could outrun would be good" Big Freya requested.

"Did it put anyone in danger" Fishlegs asked obviously concerned.

"Oh no lad" Gobber reassured him "we didn't light it until we were all safely outside the cave but it sure was a fast burner."

"Well now that's done, I'd better get back to the workshop" Hiccup declared as he started off.

"Good idea" Freya nodded "you don't want to disappoint my little girl this afternoon."

"And I don't want to upset my fiancé this morning" Hiccup grinned as he hurried off.

* * *

"I heard the explosion" Astrid smiled as she looked up from the workbench.

"I think everyone did" Hiccup replied.

"Glad to see you still have one good leg."

"Ha ha, very funny" he said as she poked out her tongue at him "how goes the saddle."

"Almost ready for the party, but I'd like you to look at the pins on the stirrups; I think they need to be a thicker gauge."

"She is a growing girl I suppose" Hiccup nodded "and she won't be getting any smaller. Did you get a chance to have a fitting with Swiftwing?"

"A quick one; I asked Little Freya to take Stormfly down to the beach so she could bathe and feed herself. She almost took Swiftwing with her as well, till I pretended that I'd be lonely here without a dragon around. The spacing across the shoulders is perfect, so I think we'll have it ready by... WAA-HEY!"

Without any warning at all, Astrid was hoisted off the ground and soon found herself sitting precariously on Stoicks left shoulder.

"How's my daughter in law today?" the huge Viking cried out with glee.

"Err... fine Chief" she giggled "at least... I was."

"How many times do I have to tell you, call me Dad."

"But that's what I call my real father... makes it rather confusing don't you think?"

"How about Pop then?" Stoick suggested.

"Considering that we're not married yet" Hiccup pointed out "Chief still seems appropriate to me."

"Oh you can't leave these things till the last minute son, she needs time to get used to it all.

"WE'RE NOT GETTING MARRIED FOR ANOTHER TWO YEARS AT LEAST" Hiccup insisted "how long do you think she's gonna need?"

"Oh your spoilin' me fun Hiccup" Stoick chuckled "do you have any idea how happy this engagement has made me?"

"Look Dad, I'm happy that you're happy, but we've been engaged for months now; almost a year, so you've got to settle down. Now if you've got nothing urgent to say, Astrid and I have to finish off Little Freya's present, and then get ready to leave tomorrow morning."

"Actually son, that's why I came to talk with you" Stoick put Astrid back down as he finally came to the point "it's about our trip to Elydonia."

"What about it Dad?" Hiccup asked.

"I was having a drink with Spitelout last night and he was asking me to raise a mug to Ivar on his behalf at the memorial. Well I got to thinking about it last night, how he and Ivar were such good friends, Godfathers to each other's children, and shipmates back in the days when we still had a fleet."

"The new ships are coming along Dad."

"Aye son, but what I'm saying is that I'm going to tell Spitelout that he can come to Ivar's memorial too; I'm sure that's what he really wants."

"Fair enough; so who's gonna be in charge while your... oh."

"Do you mind son?"

"I was looking forward to seeing everyone in Bolthorn and Staggshund again" Hiccup admitted "but I suppose we can always go there for a week next summer."

"And besides Chief" Astrid added "it will give me and Hiccup a chance to catch up with some of the things we've been putting off".

"Like designing the racing saddles and building the obstacle course" Hiccup nodded.

"Ah... well there's another thing" Stoick looked guilty.

"You still want Astrid to go with you, don't you?" Hiccup stared at his father accusingly.

Stoick did not answer, he only grinned sheepishly at his son. When Stoick left the forge a few minutes later, Astrid ran after him and spoke quietly.

"Hey Chief, I was wondering if you could do me a favour? If I'm leaving with you in the morning..."

"Say no more Astrid; I think I might spend the night in the old fishing shack... and I think I'll take Toothless with me."

"Thanks... Dad." She smiled.

* * *

Little Freya did not know it yet, but her seventh birthday party was going to be her most exciting to date; her previous birthday was her first with her own dragon, but this would be her first as a Dragon Rider. She had been waiting very impatiently for Swiftwing to grow strong enough to carry her and had even employed a rather strange method of training and testing her young Nadders abilities. Freya's mother had told her time and time again that she should not try and sit on Swiftwings back when the dragon was too small to carry the young girl because she could do the growing dragon permanent damage, so the enterprising little lady had come up with a different method to test her dragons growing strength.

Little Freya spent many weeks training Swiftwing to hover with a short length of wood in her talons and when they had perfected that trick, Freya started holding on to the wooden bar and encouraging Swiftwing to lift her off the ground. At first it was only a few inches for a few seconds but as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks turned into months, Swiftwing grew bigger and stronger allowing the two friends to take short trips across open ground. Around the same time, Fishlegs had been given the task of training Little Freya, as well as her friends Orr and Tofa on the finer points of dragon care and control. Even though all three children had pet Nadders (Stormfly's offspring from the first Dragon Snoggletog), all of Hiccup's team of Dragon Riders agreed that Meatlug was the best dragon for training beginners... well... almost all; Snotlout and Gustav of course, were both of the opinion that nothing could beat a Nightmare, even if they did catch fire when spooked.

"I find it hard to believe I use to cradle you in my arms only a year and a half ago" Astrid petted the young dragon's neck.

Even thought Swiftwing was sitting down, the dragon had grown so much that she had to drop her head to get close to Astrids face which was why she was outside Big Freya's house with her siblings Firebeard and Sunshine; three young dragons inside a house at the same time was never a good idea, especially when there was a child's birthday party going on. All three Nadders were now only a few feet shorter than their proud mother who sat down with them soon after Astrid had dismounted, but it would only be another several months before they were all as big as Stormfly.

Inside the house, Little Freya and her friends were busy feeding their faces with all their favourite foods, while wearing special foliage covered celebration helmets on their heads, when the front door flew open and three more people entered the room.

"Chief!" Little Freya jumped up from the table in surprise "I didn't do it... honestly."

In Little Freyas defence, her reaction was quite fitting for a number of reasons; one was that the High Chief of Berk never made a habit of going to children's birthday parties, and another was that he regularly had to scold Little Freya for 'Borrowing' other peoples dragons (usually a Nadder) without telling them.

"You can relax Freya" the Chief grinned at the effect that his presence was having "I'm here to give you some good news, but first..."

Stoick stepped back allowing Hiccup and Astrid to bring forward the saddle they had made for Swiftwing."

"It's not really a birthday present" Hiccup admitted as Freya and her friends hurried over to touch the impressive gift "We're working on a couple more for Tofa and Orr as well but we wanted to give this to you today because of Chief Stoicks news."

"What is it sir?" Freya asked wide eyed.

"As you know, tomorrow morning I am leading half of the village on a trip to Elydonia for..."

"YOU MEAN I CAN GO TOO?" Stoick was very disappointed that he did not get to finish his announcement, but he did understand Little Freya's excitement.

"Hiccup and Astrid tell me that your dragon is definitely strong enough to make the journey and your mother says that you have changed your dragon stealing ways, so..."

"Oh I have sir" Freya bounced excitedly "I promise never to borrow a dragon without permission ever again."

"Don't get to far ahead of yourself" Stoick warned "remember there'll be two days, two long days of riding and the second day will be over open ocean with no lunch stop and no rest breaks so you will have to make sure that you don't push your dragon too hard by playing around with dives and loops; just let her glide straight and level so she doesn't get too tired. It's bound to get very boring, so... are you sure you want to go?"

* * *

Early the next morning half of Berk gathered with their dragons in the centre of the village making the final preparations to leave.

"I don't understand it" Stoick wondered "Stormfly is saddled, packed and ready to go but where's Astrid?"

"Probably in a dark little corner somewhere with a certain special someone" Ruffnut grinned.

"Ah... well is anyone else missing?"

"Just the Freya's" Olvor informed the Chief "I'm told the little one wants to take too much gear with her and is overloading even her mother's dragon."

"Considering how strong Cuddles is, she definitely needs to pare it back somewhat" Stoick agreed.

Swiftwing and Cuddles arrived a short time later with Little Freya looking very red faced after a long argument with her mother.

"Good to see you ready at last" Stoick smiled at the taller of the two Freya's.

"I'm glad we didn't tell my daughter about the Sharktooth and the Mighty Pigg sailing out from Lookout Island; if she knew that there would be opportunities for a rest stop on day two, then she would have wanted to take even more of her stuff. She even asked me if we could get a couple of Pack Dragons to carry her bed. Honestly Stoick, you should have heard her yelling at me that Skywolf didn't have a rider so he could help carry it. I ended up telling her that if she couldn't live without her bed, then maybe she wasn't ready for such a trip; that shut her up."

"I know, I know... kids today huh? Which reminds me...ASTRID!" Stoick boomed "ARE YOU PLANNING TO JOIN US SOMETIME THIS WEEK?"

Everyone laughed loudly when Stoicks future daughter in law hurried out of a small laneway next to the Thorston home, still trying to fix her hair and straighten her clothes while a grinning Hiccup wandered along a few paces behind her.

"Don't worry Hiccup" Snotlout called from Hookfang's back "I'll keep her safe from harm."

"And we'll keep her safe from Snotlout" Ruffnut grinned while Fishlegs and Tuffnut nodded in agreement.

"Why don't any of you trust me?" Snotlout huffed.

"Do you really want us to answer that?" Fishlegs smirked.

"It won't be too long Astrid" Stoick put his arm around her shoulder "you can fly home next week after all the ceremonies; you don't have to sail back with the rest of us."

"Thanks Chief, but I won't leave you with a job half done."

Stoick laughed proudly as he lifted Astrid into her saddle and then approached his own dragon; the dragon he had been caring for since Ivar's death.

"Ready to go Viper?" he petted the dragons flank before hoisting himself into the saddle.

Not too far away, it was a different Nightmare that was drawing Fishlegs attention.

"Look at Skywolf" he noted to Astrid "He looks very eager to get back to Sigrid in Elydonia."

"I'll be very interested to see how the new Bolthorn Castle Dragon Stables are coming along" she replied "it will be a shame to lose Skywolf but at least we won't have to take turns dragon-sitting anymore."

Half of Berk waved goodbye to the other half of Berk as Stoick and Viper led the mighty wyre out over the ocean; Hiccup sighed as he watched them go with memories still fresh of the night before. As he stood there, he felt a presence standing nearby even though he could not see anything.

"Good morning Ghost" he greeted the Changewing.

During Ghosts time living on Berk, Hiccup and the younger Dragon Riders had discovered something very strange and interesting about him; like all well trained dragons, he responded well to both spoken commands and visual signals, but he also demonstrated a particularly unique ability to follow orders given by a Viking who could simply concentrate in their mind on what it was that he or she wanted the dragon to do. Unfortunately though, most Vikings found it very hard to concentrate on anything at all, but it only took practice so in time even Snotlout and Little Freya had some successes in controlling the dragon in this strange way. What they did not know of course, was the only difference between Ghost and every other Changewing was Dylan the psychic spider who lived on the dragons head imparting the messages directly into Ghost's mind.

"Don't worry, she'll be back in less than a month, but hey... you can go too if you like."

The dragon made himself visible and purred at Hiccup. The spider on his nose contemplated what his leader had just said and decided that Hiccups friends must be protected at any cost; and so resplendent in his beetle shell armour and dragonfly skull helmet, Dylan the Arachnid Viking ordered Ghost to take to the skies while vowing to honour the traditions of Berk with his sword (a new one made from a small metal pin) and his life. Hiccup probably would have found it both comforting and inspiring... if he only knew.

* * *

**New from Gobbers Tools and Devices, the ZG 1000 (Zippleback Gas) Explosive Mining Kit. Turn those annoying impenetrable rocks into easy to manage stones with only a minimum of damage to nearby houses. For the low, low cost of only Three Chickens (plus a bucket of Yaks milk sales tax)you can start getting stoned today (no... wait... that doesn't sound right).**

**Your ZG 1000 kit comes complete with everything you need to go 'BOOM' with no fuss and (almost) no mess (Zippleback Dragon not included, but can be supplied for the nominal fee of twenty five tons of pure gold)**

**Gobbers Tools is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sarnakh the Sunderer Enterprises: If you want quality goods, then surrender to Sarnakh the Sunderer today.**

**Please allow 1000 years for delivery, or specify if you wish to pick up your ZG 1000 kit from Gobbers store on Berk (If you can find it).**

* * *

_**Thanks Sarnakh for the idea.**_


	17. Chapter 17

17 What No One Wanted To Hear

After a hearty breakfast of sliced leftover boar and yak milk, Hiccup began to realise that he was actually beginning to miss Astrids multi-egg dishes, but nowhere near as much as he was missing Astrid herself. Nine days... nine long, long days she had been gone. It was true that he missed the others too, his father especially but no one was on his mind as much as... her... and their wonderful last night together.

Hiccup had tried his best to keep himself occupied with anything that could distract him; on the first day he took a team of Gronckles into the ever expanding Underground Dragon Stable, that was now taking shape between the village and the docks, to clear away (and also eat) the rocks from the last Zippleback Gas explosion that he had employed a few days prior.

As he watched the happy Gronckles going about their business, Hiccup noted that there was mostly gravel and dust near the centre of the blast zone, with the easier to move and more useful rocks, several feet away. He began to contemplate a different method of blowing out the rock walls by using a series of smaller charges, spread out over a wider area instead of one large volume of gas in the centre. This idea kept him mainly in his workshop for the next seven days, stopping only for food or to take care of any village problems; he even took to sleeping there with Toothless as his side. At the end of this week of invention, not only had he developed a small two inch metal tube, in which could sealed a large amount of compressed Zippleback Gas, but had also constructed a new multi-purpose leg with separate feet for walking and dragon control. This meant that more work had to be done on Toothless's tail controls to make it's interaction with the new leg smoother, and give the dragon greater freedom to glide without a rider.

On the eighth day, Hiccup was contemplating the concoction of Monstrous Nightmare sweat that Fishlegs had used to make the fast burning fuse, and wondered in what other ways it could be employed, so he bounced a few ideas off his dragon.

"What do you think Toothless... what would be more impressive; a weapon that could spit flames or... or..." Hiccups eyes lit up "a flaming sword?"

Toothless grunted and closed his eyes again; he could see that this was going to be another boring day in the workshop, and indeed it was as Hiccup experimented with sword and sweat till nightfall. Even Toothless was beginning to miss Astrid; at least she could have taken him flying.

* * *

Much to the dragons delight, the next day after breakfast, there was actually a problem in the village that Hiccup had to see to himself; it was nothing drastic, but it did get them out of the workshop for a while. One of the dragon feeders had slipped off its blocks when two heads of the same Zippleback had started fighting over the one fish and given the huge metal bowl a firm bash.

"It doesn't look too bad" Hoark the Haggard said with a huff.

"No... I think we if we could get a couple of Gronckles to push the low side..." Hiccup began.

"And maybe I could get Adelinde to lift at the same time?" Kara added.

"While I put the blocks back in place; that should work" Hiccup nodded.

Five minutes later, Hoark had fetched three strong Gronckles and Kara was hovering overhead on her Nadder while Hiccup got into position with the blocks, but before they could begin their little task, the familiar cry of another Nadder drew everyones attention.

"Hey it's Stormfly" Hiccup grinned as he stood up.

"So Astrid couldn't live without you after all" Kara smirked.

"Naturally; who could resist this... hang on..."

Everyone noticed at the same time that Stormfly was not going to land softly, and a few seconds later the exhausted dragon landed hard and collapsed.

"Freya!" Hiccup noticed the tiny rider passed out in the saddle "Kara, go and get Agnar, and Hoark... you see to Stormfly.

The others hurried to carry out their orders as Hiccup lifted the young girl from the dragons back and took her into his home. He placed her in Stoick relaxing chair and looked her over, but fortunately he could not see any blood. Agnar burst into the house a minute later followed closely by several other Vikings; he looked into her eyes, but Freya was not looking back.

"Her tongue's a bit swollen... get me some water" Agnar ordered.

Hiccup hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a cup and a pitcher before returning to Agnar and Freya; he half filled the mug and handed it over, but Agnar pointed to the pitcher first. He put his hand inside it and flicked some water onto Freya's face. At first the little girl began to stir slowly, but then she sat up with a scream.

"GET OFF ME; WHERE AM I?"

"It's all right Freya... you're home; Hiccup is here and" Agnar looked around "well... so is everyone else I think... now drink this."

Agnar took the cup from Hiccup and placed it gently to the girl's lips and with a soft slurp, she drank.

"Freya... what happened, can you tell us?" Hiccup asked as he sat on the unlit fireplace.

"Men came..." she began "in the night... on the ship... it WAS BURNING."

"It's alright" Hiccup tried to comfort her "you're home now... you're safe."

Everyone was desperate to find out what had happened, but Freya was just too upset to talk. Hiccup stood and paced around the room contemplating both the little he knew, and what he didn't; eventually he turned his attention to the others around him.

"We don't know where everyone is, but you can be sure that it isn't close; Stormfly looks like she's been flying non-stop for well over twenty four hours."

"So what do we do?" Starkard asked.

"I want to get as many dragon riders in the air within the hour with light survival packs only. I've got a fair idea of where we should start searching, but we'll still see if Freya can give us any more information before we leave. Ack and Phlegma, I want you to spread the word that all volunteers should get their dragons ready and meet me in the Great Hall as fast as they can manage; now go."

As worried as he was, Hiccups heart went out to the young girl resting in Agnar's arms so he knelt down to talk to her.

"Freya... we're going to leave soon and we won't come back until we've succeeded in finding everyone; and that includes your mother. I've got to go and get Toothless ready now, but if you think of anything that may help us, it doesn't matter how small, tell Agnar and he'll make sure that I know about it before we take off... okay?"

The tearful face nodded at Hiccup who then hurried off to get the rescue party ready.

"Well we didn't get much opportunity to give the new leg and tail controls much of a test Bud" Hiccup commented to his dragon "but I think they'll both work fine, at least I hope they will."

Toothless could see quite clearly that something was wrong, and very wrong indeed as Vikings rushed about and dragons were prepared for a long journey. He got his first idea as to how serious the trouble really was as Hiccup lead him towards the Great Hall and on the way, Toothless saw Stormfly.

"How is she Hoark?" Hiccup asked as Toothless nuzzled the Nadders face while giving a soft whimper.

"I'm sure she'll be much better after a bit of a rest. She taken some water, but is seems too exhausted to eat just yet, but this is what really worries me."

Hoark the Haggard lead Hiccup around Stormfly's left side and showed him two small cuts on her upper thigh.

"It looks to me like she was jabbed with a spear... or spears as I've found a few more like this on her chest and three on her tail. I've cleaned her up, but you were right about how long she's been flying because the wounds are sealed with dried blood, so when I used Olvors cleaning fluid, she didn't even give a peep."

"Hmm... it looks like whoever did this wasn't trying to kill Stormfly, but to herd her; capture her even."

"Do you think it could be those poachers you told us about?"

"No... I mean... it could be, but they didn't have any broad bladed spears with them."

"That was more than eight months ago... things change."

"True, but they had enough trouble with several Dragon Riders, so I don't think they would have taken on half of Berk without getting their butts whipped. Listen Hoark, I have to get up to the Great Hall and then take off with the search and rescue party; can I leave Berk in your capable hands while I'm away?"

"I'll protect the village, and what's left of its people with me very life, so you just do your best to bring the others back and don't worry about Berk."

Hiccup continued on to the Great Hall trying his best to be concerned about everyone, although the one face he kept seeing in mind's eye, was a certain young blonde woman who could melt his heart with only her smile. There were many Vikings waiting inside the hall and still more were running in behind him. Hiccup did not feel inclined to wait until everyone was present; it may take days to find their friends, but he still did not want to waste a single minute unnecessarily and besides, Vikings were very good at picking things up on the go.

"Okay then" he started by laying out a large map on the largest table "they've been gone nine days and consensus is that Stormfly's been in the air more than a day getting back here, so if my father managed to stay on schedule, they would have finished with the Battle of Staggshund memorial, attended a few parties around the country, launched the Mighty Ivar and left Elydonia; so they would have been at sea for a few days at least. King Joric said that he was planning to send along a small group of his best sailors to help Dad and Olaf learn the eccentricities of a big Elydonian ship before they sailed her back to Berk."

The Mighty Ivar (for those who came in late) was a ship that had been under construction in the Elydonian town of Port Yoric during the reign of King Rekkur, and was destined to be his flagship. That was until Stoick, Hiccup and the other Dragon Riders took great offence at Rekkurs attempt to turn Berk and the Islands around it into the start of the First Elydonian Empire. When Rekkur resisted every overture of peace from Berk, and even attempted to execute Hiccup and Snotlout in the process, Stoick was left with no choice but to remove this warmonger from the throne by force. In the short lived civil war that followed, the only Dragon Rider killed in the Battle of Staggshund was Ivar; although Gobbers pet Gronckle named Pigg, was also lost on the same day. When King Joric the Fifth was crowned as the new ruler of Elydonia, he decided to honour those from Berk who had given their lives for peace between the two powers, by gifting two ships to Chief Stoick; the first was the only ship to invade the islands around Berk, now named the Noble Pigg and the second was the huge flagship, but not until its construction was complete (naturally).

"Two days out" Ack sighed "that's a lot of ocean for us to cover without knowing what heading they took."

"True, but I think Dad would have sailed in the general direction of Lookout Island, which is where we will head to first... for a start anyway; from there we can search the entire area till something turns up. They may have just sailed in local Elydonian waters, or they may have made straight for the island; My Dad said that he may ferry Joric's sailors back home by dragon to save him three or four days unless there were too many of them... or if they were too scared to fly."

"So we fly with all speed to Lookout Island then?" Starkard asked.

"Not quite... the only area we know well is this archipelago between Berk, Lookout Island, up around Dragon Island and across to Elydonia" Hiccup drew a line with his finger down to the southeast "so I intend to fly straight towards Lookout Island till early afternoon. I want every Dragon Rider spread out on either side of me at a distance of about a half a mile or more between wingtips; just keep the rider on either side of you in sight. If you should spot an island on the way, by all means go and check it out, but this is very important; if you see anyone who is not from Berk, just do a flyover; DO NOT LAND UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES! I cannot over emphasise this because if you get downed or captured then the rest of us will not know about it and won't be able to help. We'll all meet around noon on... let me see... Here... Liars Island; we'll report anything of interest to each other there, before we then make our way to Lookout Island."

"Right then everyone" Starkard called out "you heard the Chief, now everyone get to your dragons."

"Err... Starkard" Hiccup motioned as the Vikings hurried out of the Great Hall "please don't call me that; I choose to believe that my dad is still alive."

"As do I lad, but it's important that everyone knows who to look to. You did a good job of organising this rescue trip at such short notice; your experience with the young riders really shows, so it's plain to see that we have someone we can trust in charge till we get Stoick and the others back... so just go with it."

The fear of leadership began to wane a little as Hiccup realised that he was not alone in this, and he just had to keep his head and be a central figure who everyone could work around; Stoick trusted his warriors, and so could Hiccup.

* * *

**Ah... so few reviews; I had to go back and read some of the old ones from the other stories to boost my moral (sigh... I am such a drama queen...err... king?).**


	18. Chapter 18

18 First Leg

The Dragon Riders of Berk moved with speed and purpose all around him, as Hiccup strode back to his home to check on Little Freya; he found her still resting while talking with Agnar.

"How are you feeling?" Hiccup asked.

The young girl shrugged and sighed while trying her best to hold back the tears.

"She's managed to remember a little" Agnar informed the Dragon Master "she says she was on biggest of the three ships, so I assume that was The Mighty Ivar, and all three were aflame. Apparently they were anchored off the coast of a small island, but Freya doesn't think anyone went ashore."

"Mummy said it was getting too dark" Freya piped up "and we would have to wait till morning but..."

As the memories of that fateful night returned, Freya fell silent once more.

"Did she say how long they were at sea?" Hiccup asked expectantly.

"Three days; and she says that a day and a night had passed since Astrid put her on Stormfly, so if this attack did happen in the middle of the night, then she would have been in the air about thirty hours."

"Luckily the weather was so good or Stormfly may not have managed to get here so quickly" Hiccup sighed with relief "Three days at sea... so they could be on Lookout Island after all, but then the flight back would have been much quicker so maybe not."

"Only one way to find out" Agnar grinned "I'll go get me dragon."

"Hold on there a minute" Hiccup insisted "With Olvor away, you're the closest thing to a doctor here so you are definitely staying... and besides, with Hoark in charge I'm gonna need you to keep things on the straight and narrow."

"Well... yes, but... but... oh bugger" Agnar sat back down with a thud.

* * *

As a man more used to fighting wars from horseback (or from a tent well away from the fighting), General Karoc was not enjoying the constant moving of the ship, and was beginning to wish that he had gone back to New Loren on one of the Clippers. Those ships were so fast, that they would probably be in port inside of one more day, while he could look forward to a trip three times as long in the two slow and badly damaged ships that now made up his small fleet. Emperor Scias would not be happy when he heard about the losses Karoc had suffered, but hopefully his anger would be tempered as soon as he was told about the Generals success in procuring him some dragons.

The enemy fleet had consisted of only three ships; one huge Warship, one smaller Barque and one even smaller Longship. It should have been an easy victory considering the twelve ships under Karoc's command, not to mention the element of surprise he enjoyed. When he attacked in the middle of the night, it should have been quick and decisive, but just as his forces were about to swam onto the three ships, the alarm was raised by a young girl on the big ship, and an old man on one of the small ones.

'Seriously, who uses women and the elderly as sentries?' Karoc thought.

His frustration was only intensified by the fact that the only real reason his men had triumphed in the pitched battle, was because he had four times as many ships, ten times as many soldiers, and almost all the dragons were already shut up in their pens below deck for the night. The three dragons that were loose had caused him no end of trouble at first, but fortunately the big blue one had flown off with a child on its back, while the two round rock-like ones had left with the burning longship.

Karoc shook his head and sighed as he went over the battle in his head; it was bad enough that the enemy had a few dragons, but even without them those Vikings were crazy. No battle plan, no strategies, just wild screaming, yelling, stabbing and slashing; he shivered at the thought of those axes. It was not as if size mattered either; it was true that it took five of his strongest soldiers to hold down Chief Stoick, and almost as many for each of the other Vikings... even the women, but what he found most worrying was how fast and slippery the children were. The boys were young (they didn't even have any facial hair to speak of), but they were so beefy. And the girls seemed so delicate until he saw the cute blonde one coming straight at him with another one of those horrific axes; General Karoc shivered again at the thought.

He had never fought against such a determined foe, and he had never seen such loyalty amongst a fighting force either. His men knew that their main task was to carry out their orders or face disciplinary charges, but the Vikings would often abandon their own fight just to help one of their shipmates who was at risk of losing his or her life; it was these kind of actions that kept the battle going long after any other enemy would have been subdued. Before the battle had commenced, Karoc ordered his men to keep the Vikings away from their dragons at all costs, but even so they were continually shouting orders to the beasts and before he knew it, half of his ships were on fire or sinking... or both. The blue dragon could fire on a ship over a large distance, even when it was fighting off half a platoon at the same time, and it only stopped when Stoick was threatened by General Karoc.

"CALL OFF YOUR DRAGON OR I START SLITTING THROATS" he shouted out to the bound up chief.

On the Generals order, knives were drawn and held to every captive throat; and so Stoick relented, ordering everyone to end the fight and surrender.

Stoick was no fool; he knew that Karoc was the kind of man who would definitely carry out his threat if pushed, and he had plenty of prisoners to prove his point with. The Viking Chief looked around the deck as the fighting continued in small pockets, and it was plain to see that his people and their Elydonian allies had been beaten by overwhelming odds, but he swelled with pride as he noticed that every last one of the Vikings captured was being held down by at least three soldiers, with many needing four or five to subdue them.

An intense pain pierced Stoicks soul when he saw the number of dead Elydonian sailors on the deck; amongst their number where his own good friends Fjori the Wise, Grison the Gruesome and Halfig son of Hoark the Haggard. There were far more casualties among the invaders, but that did not bring Stoick any joy. It did bring a small amount of satisfaction however, to see that the attackers had paid for their insolence. Before everything finally settled down, two more of General Karoc's ships had succumb to their damage and slipped beneath the waves with the survivors swimming as best they could to any of the four remaining New Loren vessels. Of the three ships in Stoick's fleet, only the Mighty Ivar was reasonably intact, in spite of the fire damage, but the Sharktooth and the Noble Pigg both appeared to be beyond hope; they were abandoned by their captors and left to founder.

Even though he had triumphed over the Vikings and Elydonians by sheer force of numbers, Karoc was bothered by the fact that he still failed to hold on to just one of the three dragons that were loose during the fight. The two rock-like beasts had simply flown off to the badly damaged longship where they had come from at the start of the fighting, and the big blue one was last seen fleeing with something on its back that had been placed there by that blasted blonde girl with the axe.

The more he thought about it, the more General Karoc was relieved that the biggest of the enemy's vessels had survived the battle, because it was the only ship specifically fitted out to carry the dragons; he would have had no end of trouble if he had tried to take them on board any of his own ships. He was also pleased that the dragons obeyed their Viking masters so readily; neither he, nor any of the soldiers under his command, had any hope of controlling them alone. He had tried when he first went below deck to inspect his winged prisoners, but the only way he knew was to use force and that was resulting in more and more injuries to the dragons (Karoc knew that would greatly upset the Emperor, who wanted these creatures captured alive and healthy) as well as more and more badly burnt soldiers.

"If you want your people and your... pets to come out of all this unscathed, then I strongly suggest that you keep your dragons quiet before I have to resort to spilling more blood" Karoc informed Stoick.

The Viking Chief never liked to just give up, but he knew the time had come to regroup. Even though they were all captive, they had to look for opportunities, plan for future escape, seek out possible allies and most of all... trust his son.

About an hour after the sun had risen, Karoc took stock of his situation and settled on a plan; he transferred Stoick and most of the prisoners under heavy guard, to the two fast Clippers that he had left and sent them back to New Loren with an undamaged Barque, while he and the rest of his men remained behind on the last of his Warships. A few smaller Vikings were left on board the Mighty Ivar with forty soldiers, to control and care for the dragons he had captive below deck.

By staying close to the captured ship and its precious live cargo, he hoped to gain the highest praise and reward from his Emperor. When the first three ships arrived in port with the Vikings on board, word would be sent immediately to the palace that General Karoc had succeeded in procuring a large number of dragons and was on his way home with his leader's prize. When Emperor Scias heard of this, he would surely leave the palace and make for the coast at once, escorted by his Imperial Guard, to receive some of the creatures he had sought for so many years.

Karoc was also thinking about Borges, his long time rival for the Emperor's favour. Borges had spent many long months getting back into Emperor Scias's good books after his failure to extract any useful information from Astrid and her artificial brother Victor when they were his prisoners. Now that he had succeeded where Borges had failed, General Karoc planned to obtain Emperor Scias's blessing to raise an even bigger force and a much bigger fleet on the pretence of sailing off to expand the empire and to bring back more mythical creatures for his leader.

Even though it was now proven that dragons did indeed exist, Karoc still found it hard to believe that the likes of Gryphons, Unicorns, Minotaurs or any others creatures awaited discovery in faraway lands, but the Emperor's belief in these beasts gave the General opportunity to leave New Loren in command of the Imperial Force and then one day return in greater strength and take over the entire Empire himself.

General Karoc stared at the Mighty Ivar from the wheel deck of his last warship; it was a complex plan, but he firmly believed he could pull it off... if he could only get back to New Loren with the dragons and his prisoners intact... his prisoners... there was something wrong in his mind and it was starting to drive him mad. What was it about these Dragon Riders that seemed so familiar? He had never encountered them before, only seen them in the sky, although he had been through many skirmishes with the Elydonians in the past. Karoc closed his eyes and ran through the battle in his head once more, trying to discover what it was that was bothering him, but he found that he just couldn't get past the memory of that blonde girl with the axe. Blond girl... axe... blonde... ... ... ...

"AAAAAH; ROSE!" he suddenly cried out, causing everyone on deck to jump "LOWER THE BOAT; I NEED TO GET TO THE ENEMY VESSEL... NOW!"

* * *

**I ended up re-writing this one a few times to try and get it to make sense, but I'm still not sure that it does. Oh well... the next one is much more fun.**


	19. Chapter 19

19 Old Enemies

After an entire day of searching the seas southeast of Berk, the exhausted dragons and their riders set down near the northern inlet of Lookout Island; the approximate halfway point to Elydonia. There may be more islands in the area to discover and search tomorrow morning, but if there were then Hiccup did not know about them, because every trip he had taken from Lookout Island in the past was either straight to Elydonia, or straight home again.

"Okay everyone listen up" Hiccup addressed the weary Vikings "all dragons are to be rested until they are ready to feed themselves; Starkard is in charge of setting up and running the camp, Kara can coordinate tomorrows search, and I want Ack and Helga to grab a net and get down to the inlet."

"Ah the joys of being away from Berk" Ack grinned "fish for every meal."

"True, but I need you to get the first catch to Toothless" Hiccup ordered "I need him rested now, fed soon and ready for action."

"You got it Chief" Helga nodded as she and Ack hurried off to their task.

"Why do I get the feeling that you won't be with us very long?" Starkard commented as he and Kara approached the Dragon Master "I'm getting a very strong feeling that there is something you are not telling us."

"I have to get to Elydonia... tonight if I can, but that depends on Toothless of course; he's looking tired."

"But why?" Kara asked.

"King Joric may know something that could help our search, but it is also possible that he isn't even aware of the attack on my father's group yet, and it would certainly help to get some Elydonian ships out searching from their side of the ocean."

"But it will be dark by the time Toothless is ready to fly again; you could pass straight over the ships and not even see them" Kara noted.

"True... but it can't be helped; If Joric can tell us which direction Dad was sailing in, it could make all the difference during tomorrow's search and besides, I won't leave Bolthorn Castle again till first light so I can look for them on the return trip."

"Who are you taking with you?" Starkard asked.

"I'll go alone; everyone needs to rest up for tomorrow... and you both know that no other dragon can keep up with a Night Fury. Don't worry; I'll make sure Toothless gets plenty of sleep tonight."

Starkard opened his mouth to object, but Kara frowned and shook her head.

"Hiccup's right you know... let it go."

* * *

"How are you doing Chief?" Sigrid asked.

"All things considered, shouldn't it be me asking you that question? After all; you're the one with the little baby in her belly."

"I'm okay; it's far too early for anyone to even notice that I'm expecting" she smiled "They've only chained the rest of us by the ankles; I think they used up most of the chain they had on hand tying up you."

A huge grin spread across Stoick's face. He liked the thought that the invaders were already so frightened him, that they felt it necessary to completely wrap him in heavy chain.

"I'm surprised they didn't just kill me" Stoick noted.

"Oh believe me, we did consider that" a new voice spoke from the hatch.

The captain of the Clipper ship caught everyones attention as he casually strode down the wooden steps into the brig "But the Emperor will want to get as much information as he can out of you, BEFORE he kills you."

"The only thing he'll get out of me is detailed information about how ugly he is" Snotlout smirked.

"Yeah, yeah and... err... and how he smells and his butt is big, and his butt smells, his nose is huge, and his nose smells and..."

"ALRIGHT TUFFNUT; that's enough" Stoick silenced the babbling young man "I think we all get the message."

"You are such an idiot" Snotlout shook his head.

"Oh yeah?" Tuffnut replied desperately trying to think of a scathing comeback "well... your nose smells too."

There was a slight gasp from one of the Elydonian sailors as he recognised the man who had just entered, but he quickly turned his head away before he could be recognised in return.

"I'm not ashamed to say" the Captain began "err... Stoick is it?"

The Chief said nothing but just stared into his captor's eyes.

"As I was saying, I'm not ashamed to say that I am very glad that you are chained up this way; I do believe that you could tear my limbs off if you so desired."

"That would be a safe bet" Stoick spoke at last.

"Oh the hatred in your eyes" the Captain smirked "I'd also wager that you are beginning to wish that you had executed me the last time we met."

The grin on the Captains face melted away as soon as he saw Stoicks confusion.

"Are you trying to tell me that I... should know you?" Stoick asked.

"YOU CAME TO MY SHIP WITH SIGFUS JOLFSON TO TAKE PRINCE NAINN PRISONER!"

"Oh... so you were on one of those ships that King Rekkur sent to invade Berk last year. You didn't even get halfway there" Stoick laughed and the others joined in "Were you one of the sailors or an officer?"

"I WAS THE BLOODY CAPTAIN YOU IDIOT."

"Now now... temper temper" the grin was back on Stoicks face again.

"And if it wasn't for you and your bloody dragons..."

"Language Captain" Stoick interrupted "there are ladies present."

"If it wasn't for you" the captain continued "I would have ended up a Fleet Captain in my own country... or even an Admiral, but there isn't much chance of me being promoted that far now... serving in a foreign navy."

"I think I remember you" Stoick realised at last "as least... I remember a man that Sigfus wanted to arrest, but couldn't for some reason."

"Yes... that was me; Captain Julius Pratt at your service" Pratt grinned at the fact that he was remembered at last.

"The thing I don't remember is what you'd done and why Sigfus couldn't touch you."

"Yes I suppose it must have been far too complex for your barbaric brain to grasp."

"No need to be insulting" Stoick warned "or I may have to teach you some manners."

"I'd like to see you try" Pratt sneered.

"Oh no you wouldn't" Odd called out from further down the line of prisoners.

"SHUT UP DOWN THERE" Pratt shouted.

"oooooOOOOOOooooo" replied a chorus of Viking voices.

"Now now everybody" Stoick pretended to scold his people "give the Captain a chance to tell us how important he is."

Eventually the giggling died down and Captain Pratt continued to tell his tale.

"Your 'friend' Sigfus Jolfson was a traitor to King Rekkur and was part of a plot to overthrow him..."

"Wait a minute; Rekkur was the one who murdered King Joric's grandfather... and stole the throne" Stoick did a bit of sneering himself.

"Oh I'm not saying Rekkur was perfect, but he was the king that I served under and so I was right of me to report Jolfson and his co-conspirators for their treachery and get them kicked out of the Elydonian Navy... it's just a shame they all escaped before they could be executed."

"I was told that you turned them in just to further your own career... Captain" Stoick accused as a chorus of 'tisk tisk' and 'shame on you' echoed through the brig from the other Vikings.

"SHUT UP... the lot of you; I can always tell the Emperor that some of you were killed trying to escape."

"Settle down everyone" Stoick ordered "let the nice traitor justify himself."

Julius Pratt stood steaming for a short time until the giggling died down again.

"So why didn't King Joric have you imprisoned" Stoick asked "and how did you end up here?"

The slippery smile returned to Captain Pratt's face; although he hated having it pointed out to him, he did like to tell his story and justify his actions.

"You may remember that when you and Sigfus came to arrest Prince Nainn, every other officer in the fleet was... shall we say... a little worried?"

"What would you expect with fresh notification of a new king... not to mention having a Viking chief and a dragon sitting on the deck of your ship?" Stoick huffed "Of course they were worried."

"Ah... but they were also very concerned that they too would be arrested; just as Nainn and his father King Rekkur. They thought that they too may be subject to retribution from the new king... and so I pointed out to Sigfus that if he arrested me, then he may find the entire navy taking up arms against him in one... big... mutiny... just to protect themselves from reprisal."

"So Sigfus had to let you go just to show everyone else that they were safe and could trust the new king" Stoick realised.

"Exactly; but I knew my career in the Elydonian Navy was over so..."

"So you betrayed your new king and your country" Stoick shook his head as the others mumbled 'shame shame' under their collective breaths.

"I EMIGRATED!" Pratt slipped back into justification mode "to somewhere I would be more... appreciated."

"Emigrating is one thing" a very different voice chimed in from further down the line of prisoners "but to betray you country and its allies... I cannot forgive that."

"QUIET IN THE RANKS" Stoick shouted much to Captain Pratt's surprise.

The Viking chief's outburst confused Pratt; he stood for a minute and pondered what would make Stoick act in such a way. Slowly he moved down the line of chained men and women looking carefully at each one; he tore of the hood of a man to his left only to find an Elydonian sailor. As he moved on, the Vikings all stared at him with a look of disgust that made the Captain nervous but the Elydonians continued to avert their eyes."

"What the..." Captain Julius Pratt stopped short in front of the one man who dared to stare back "...Joric?... Oh this is priceless... this is WONDERFUL; I just might make Admiral in the Imperial Navy yet.

The Clipper ship with its cargo of prisoners sailed on leading its small fleet back to New Loren. Pratt left the brig grinning like a Cheshire Dragon at his discovery, but he was blissfully unaware that he was being observed by an almost invisible creature sitting on the mizzen yard, with an armoured spider standing boldly on its head.

* * *

Back in the hold of the Mighty Ivar, three other prisoners were contemplating their fate; they also agreed that fate could go jump in a lake somewhere.

"I hate being chained up below deck" Ruffnut huffed "it smells worse than Tuffnut's bedroom down here."

"It does smell bad" Fishlegs noted "but not worse."

"I'm with Fishlegs" Astrid agreed "when it comes to nauseating aromas, the only things worse than your brother's bedroom are Snotlouts boots and Gobbers undies in July."

"I'd put Meatlug after a big meal on that list" Ruffnut added.

"HEY! Don't blame Meatlug; she has a sensitive stomach."

"I'm not buying that; you're just using the same excuse as Gobber does?" Ruffnut smirked "I'm surprised Hiccup is only experimenting with Zippleback gas and not with what come out of your Gronckle."

"Are you kidding Ruff?" Astrid smirked "Hiccup only wants to blow up rocks, not destroy Berk entirely."

"I hate you both" Fishlegs sneered at the laughing girls.

The Dragon Riders all fell silent for a short time until Astrid could stand it no longer.

"I AM SO SICK OF THIS!" she declared kicking at her chains again "why wouldn't Stoick let us do something? Why does he expect us to just sit this out and hope for the best? It's just not like him... and it's not like us either."

"Sorry Astrid, but you heard his orders" Fishlegs sighed.

"Actually... I didn't; I hadn't been captured when Stoick and the others were taken to those other ships so Ruffnut told me what he said when we were put down here. Are you sure you got it right Ruff?"

"Yup; he told me to sit tight, take good care of the dragons, don't try to escape and do whatever our captors tell us to."

"You're right Astrid" Fishlegs started to look confused "that defiantly does NOT sound like something Stoick would..."

Fishlegs was abruptly cut off by the sound of the hatch above them being opened. Heavy feet made the wooden steps creak and groan as two enemy guards following a large man in armour strode down into the brig to face his prisoners. General Karoc eyed off Ruffnut before turning up his nose; she did not look familiar at all and the same could be said about the shivering young man sitting next to her, but the third one sitting on the opposite bench, she was another story altogether.

"So then... Rose.., I assume that is not your real name."

"It's Astrid actually." She informed him.

"Ah... keeping with the floral theme... so who are your friends, Lily and Pansy perhaps?"

"HEY!" Fishlegs protested.

"General, I would like you to meet Fishlegs and Ruffnut; two of the Vikings who one day see your head stuck on a pole."

Astrid's confidence did not please the General; people did not speak to him that way as a rule, and especially not people in manacles and chains, but he shrugged it off for now as he sought answers to the questions in his head.

"So what's become of your weedy little brother?" he enquired.

"Hiccups not her brother" Ruffnut smirked "he's her fiancé."

"Her FIANCÉ? You have got to be kidding me."

"Ruffnut please" Astrid begged "he talking about... Ruprecht, not Hiccup."

"That right... Ruprecht" General Karoc nodded as the memory retuned to him "and I assume that is not his real name either; so what is that little Viking called?"

"I dunno" Astrid lied, but then added a little truth to undermine the Generals confidence "because he's not a Viking, he was one of your own people... and I do mean... was."

"Are you saying that you were... assisted by a citizen of the New Loren Empire?"

"Oh it's much better than that" Astrid smiled "when I said he was one of YOUR people, that is exactly what I meant. At one time, you had a certain spy reporting to you through letters delivered by a young street urchin..."

"No... it couldn't be" Karoc looked flustered "but the boy with you was... well... different somehow."

"He was the assistant of a very experienced spy or as he liked to say, an 'Obtainer of Vital Intelligence' so you have to expect that he was also pretty good at disguises."

"So that boy has turned traitor... and I assume your people murdered his master."

"You are so full of yourself" Astrid smiled again "we didn't kill him, he went undercover to track us down and bring you the information you wanted, but you sent soldiers to capture his apprentice and young Ruprecht; so they all had to disappear just to save their own lives... now all three are on our side."

"If they were loyal to the Emperor, they had nothing to fear from me."

"Oh please, what a load of Gronckle poop" Astrid sneered "you and your Emperor both thought I was only a local farm girl back then, but you still sent me off with Borges to be tortured. We all knew that none of you could be trusted, and you proved that to be true when you entered Elydonian waters and attacked us."

"Elydonia will soon be just another province in out mighty empire" the General smirked "and then we will find your home and take that too."

"Oh no you won't; not while a single Dragon Rider still draws a breath."

Fishlegs and Ruffnut both shouted in agreement.

"Bold talk" Karoc continued smirking "but I have your dragons here on this ship, and your Chief is on one of my Clippers with the rest of your people; so by the time we get back to the shores of New Loren, they will all be in the towers and dungeons of the Imperial Palace."

"You may have our Chief, but you don't have all our dragons, or all our people... and more than that, you do not have the Dragon Master. He is the man who destroyed the Red Death single handed; a dragon the size of a mountain."

"And he rides a Night Fury" Fishlegs added "and you have never seen a dragon like that before."

"The offspring of lightning and death itself" Ruffnut chimed in.

"And that dragon could sink each of your ships with a single shot through the hull" Astrid concluded "and when he comes looking for us, he will be leading an army of Dragon Riders."

"Not that he'll need them" Fishlegs drove home "with a Night Fury at his command, he could take care of fifty ships single handed.

The General said nothing but just stood staring at them all while trying to decide if they were bluffing or not.

"Look General, even if you doubt my word, you will never get these dragons back to New Loren" Astrid sighed.

"Don't be so sure young lady; there is no way you are getting out of those chains to free them, and we have them locked up tightly in the hold."

"That is my point" it was Astrids turn to smirk "I know why we're here, and not on the other ships with the rest of your prisoners; you need us to take care of the dragons so you can bring them back alive, but if you lock them up for the entire journey, then not even we will be able to control them. Dragons like to fly, and they like to go fishing for fresh food; so it won't be long before they start going crazy in their pens and begin to tear this ship apart from the inside... and when that happens, we all go down together... unless you can swim in that armour."

"Oh really, and what do suggest? I suppose you think I'll just let you take them all out for a little exercise."

"That would be the best thing to do, but I suspect that you will simply ignore my advice until it's too late; and that is why we have made our peace and are ready to die."

"You can't fool me" the General looked at her with disgust before turning to leave "I'm not that stupid."

"Said the man commanding a ship full of fire breathing dragons that he can't control" Ruffnut added; they all laughed as the General stormed off.

"Watch them..." Karoc ordered the guards as he glanced back "...closely."

* * *

**Back in chapter 30 of the 'Seasick Dragon' story, I wrote this as an author note:**

**During my lifetime I have travelled through a war zone and been surrounded by men with automatic weapons, I've swam with a twelve foot Hammerhead shark and assisted in the rescue of two young Dolphins, I've been trapped in a sea cave blowhole, been engulfed in a large school of stinging Jellyfish and chauffeured celebrities (all true) among many other interesting things. But the only things I want to write about are the adventures of a group of fictitious Dragon Riders – my Mother thinks I'm crazy.**

**It was meant to be a jibe about the things that interest us as Fan Fiction writers and readers, but someone who shall remain nameless (Sarnakh) has expressed doubts about my honesty. This maybe because all the stuff I wrote about my super intelligent, megalomaniac cat named Moon, was nothing more than grade-A crap, but the experiences in the above paragraph were all true – although most were nowhere near as interesting as you might think.**

**So at the risk of being nothing more than a self promoting bragger, I have decided to expand on what actually happened, and write about it all in future 'Author Notes' (unless I bring forth a torrent of abuse; if so, I will pull my head in and get back to writing fiction :-)**


	20. Chapter 20

20 It's Not The End Of The World (it just feels like it)

Captain Pratt surveyed the activity going on around him from the Wheel Deck of his Clipper Ship. Ever since he had discovered that the King of Elydonia was one of the prisoners in the hold, he could not stop grinning. The look of delight on his face was hard to miss, but it did start to melt away when he noticed an old man about to enter the hold with a large box.

"YOU THERE; WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU DOING?" he cried out.

"Food for the prisoners Captain" the man replied as Julius Pratt hurried down to the main deck flanked by two of his officers "bread and fruit; we want keep them nice and healthy, ready for the torture."

The old man laughed at his own joke as Pratt studied the contents of the box. As soon as the Captain was satisfied that there were no tools or weapons being smuggled to the prisoners, he stopped and considered what the old man had said. It was true that Emperor Scias would not be happy if his interrogation of the Dragon Riders was prematurely cut short by their premature deaths.

"Very well" he agreed at last "but don't give them all this; we don't want them too strong."

"Ahh... clever Captain... very clever" the old man cackled loudly as he continued on down to the brig.

Every eye looked towards the light from the hatch as the old man, still laughing to himself, approached the shackled prisoners."

"I've brought some food for you and your people Chief Stoick... oh and the Elydonians too of course."

Stoick said nothing as the box was set down and the food was distributed. Sigrid broke some bread and fed it to the Chief as he was the only one with his arms bound.

"We should arrive in New Loren tomorrow" the old man whispered "and you'll all be force marched to the Imperial Castle. Before we left the Warships behind, my apprentice managed to inform me that the young girl Astrid was able to get her dragon away with a child; if they made it back to Berk, we're hoping that Hiccup will get here in time to mount a rescue while you're still on the road."

"That is good news" Sigrid nodded "but why are you helping us; aren't you one of the Pratt's men?"

"My friends and I left New Loren last autumn and took up residence in Elydonia; General Karoc... well... he doesn't trust us running around free so he tried to capture and imprison us. When we found out that King Joric was going to give you a ship, we spent most of the year blending into the Elydonian Navy hoping that we would eventually get a ride to Berk."

"So you must be Darius Gershwin" Stoick pondered "Hiccup told me about you."

"At your service sir" Darius bowed.

"He also doesn't trust you... and neither do I; trying to trick your way to Berk. Just what are you up to anyway?"

"I merely wish for the opportunity to observe Astrid's training methods" the spy admitted "I'd never found anyone who could hide or track better than I...until I met her... and she's so young."

"Then why didn't you just tell us instead of all this sneaking around?" Stoick asked.

"Oh I did tell your son of my desire... but as you noted, Hiccup doesn't trust me."

* * *

The cry of the Night Fury echoed thought the dark streets of Bolthorn town as Hiccup and Toothless flew down towards the palace watchtower. Hiccup considered taking Toothless to the newly converted stables so the exhausted dragon could rest there, but the thought of trying to talk his way into the palace hours before sunrise seemed like too much bother for someone as tired as he was. Fortunately for him, the watchtower guards had become accustomed to the Dragon Riders coming and going at strange times.

"Welcome back Lord Hiccup" the head guard greeted him as Toothless touched down "we didn't expect to see you tonight, but I sent one of my men down with word of your arrival as soon as we heard your dragon approaching."

"Thank you and if it's alright with you, I'll leave Toothless here to rest for a while; he's just flown me all the way from Berk... almost non-stop."

"Yes of course sir" the head guard agreed as Hiccup knelt down and hugged his dragon's neck.

"Stay here and get some rest Toothless, you worked so hard today; thank you."

"If you'll excuse me saying sir" the guard continued "you both look quite exhausted; I'm sure your room is already being prepared for you."

"No time for that; I must see King Joric at once."

"But sir..." the guard began but it was too late as Hiccup threw open the trap door, and ran off down the tower stairs.

Toothless sighed a weary sigh and went through his pre-sleep ritual, turning around in a tight circle while burning the stone floor to a blackened, yet slightly glowing crisp, before settling down to rest. The two remaining guards inched a little closer to the dragon who was already emitting a sound from his snout that sounded a little like a purr, and a lot like a snore.

"Oh my but that feels good" one of them commented as the heat from the stones rose up around them.

"Why can't we have a dragon sir?" the subordinate asked seriously.

"It certainly would be nice on these cold nights" his superior agreed.

* * *

Hiccup leapt from stair to stair, desperate to get down the tower to the Kings rooms as fast as he could. He burst through the door from the stairwell and knocked over the watchtower guard who had been sent to announce the Dragon Masters arrival, and was now returning to his post.

"Sorry about that" Hiccup apologised as the guard picked himself up again.

"HICCUP!" Kylan called out from the main staircase as a one legged blur dashed by "what are you doing here so late at night; couldn't live without Astrid any longer huh?"

"I need to see Joric right away" Hiccup panted.

"But the King isn't here Hiccup; he and Sigrid decided to go on a little holiday with your father while his people were being trained in the operation of an Elydonian ship. Why; is there something wrong?"

"That would be an understatement" Hiccup informed her "Stormfly returned to Berk this morning with Freya's daughter; she told us they were attacked."

Kylans eyebrows rose up so high, they almost left her forehead behind altogether.

"GUARDS GUARDS!" she screamed out and within seconds men were running in from all directions.

"Rouse the Prince, as well as Sigfus and Boron; tell them I need to see them at once in the Kings library."

The men hurried off to their task as Hiccup followed Kylan back down the corridor.

* * *

The frustrated growl of a Monstrous Nightmare echoed through the bowels of the ship Mighty Ivar and mixed eerily with the sounds of other dragons shuffling nervously in their pens. If it were not for the fact that they were so well trained and had been ordered by Astrid to stay put, they would have all been fighting their way out hours ago. But even Astrid's word could only hold them for so long, and time was running out.

"I just wish I knew what Stoick's plan was" Astrid declared in frustration "at least it would make the waiting easier to take."

"He's probably waiting for Hiccup to bring reinforcements from Berk" Fishlegs offered.

"Nice idea" Astrid noted "but we've got no way of knowing if Stormfly and Freya made it back or not, and she couldn't tell Hiccup where we are anyway. Are you sure you got Stoicks instructions right Ruff? Tell me again what he said... word for word."

"Not again" Ruffnut sighed "He said that we should take care of the dragons, and do whatever General Karoc told us to... and that's all."

"Were you alone at the time?" Astrid asked.

"No... Karoc and two officers were there, I was being held by a couple of guards and Stoick had four or five trying to hold him back."

"Are you sure that was all he said?" enquired Fishlegs.

"YES! He said everything would turn out alright if we would only follow his orders; just like we did on Dragon Island."

Astrid and Fishlegs were stunned and stared at Ruffnut blankly.

"What... why are you looking at me like that?" she asked.

"Think Ruffnut" Astrid tried to get her friend to understand "On Dragon Island... did we follow Stoicks orders...ONE LITTLE BIT."

"Well no, we came flying in on the dragons and saved everyone from the... oh."

"Right... so Stoick really wants us make a break for it if we can" Astrid realised.

"We'll have to come up with a plan" Fishlegs thought "and try to make Karoc think he can use us."

"I'm sure Fotherington can help us with that" Astrid revealed.

"Oh come on... how did you know I was here?" the young spy commented from his hiding place.

"If Darius Gershwin couldn't hide from me, what makes you think that you can?"

"Are you telling me there was someone here all this time and you didn't tell us?" Fishlegs said indignantly.

"You all had the same clues as I did, so don't blame me if you didn't notice anything" Astrid grinned.

"What clues?" Ruffnut asked as Fotherington emerged and sat down with the Dragon Riders.

"Sound, smell... that kind of thing" Astrid informed them as Ruffnut leant over and sniffed.

"He doesn't smell bad" she commented.

"You don't have to smell bad to have an aroma" Fishlegs pointed out.

"Unless your name is Meatlug" Ruffnut smirked "So this is one of those spies you told us about when you came home from Sigrids wedding huh?"

"Sure is; so then Fotherington, what can you tell us about our situation" Astrid asked "are the other two spies on this ship as well?"

"The Master is now posing as a deck hand on the same Clipper Ship your father Stoick is on, and I last saw Victor on your Longship, the Sharktooth."

"Stoicks not my father... yet" Astrid shook her head.

"He likes to tell people he is" Fotherington noted.

"Honestly, Stoick is almost as bad as Snotlout" Astrid sighed "At least he has stopped telling everyone that he's gonna marry me some day."

"Ah; but you WILL be Stoicks daughter" Ruffnut pointed out "Unless I can convince Hiccup that he could do better."

"When we get out of here, I'm gonna fill your knickers with Gronckle Lava" Astrid threatened.

"So you came here as part of the Generals fleet" Fishlegs asked Fotherington in a desperate attempt to get back on track.

"Oh no" Astrid pointed out "they were all posing as Elydonian sailors ever since we left Port Yoric; in fact it was Darius, the man Fotherington calls Master, who raised the alarm about the attack over on the ship Noble Pigg."

"So you knew they were here... and you didn't tell anyone?" Fishlegs was surprised.

"At first I wanted to see what they were up to; Hiccup doesn't trust them fully so I wanted to find out if that mistrust was well founded or not. As the days passed, I noticed that they were acting more like people on a holiday than spies waiting for an attack."

"We were planning to stay on board when Stoick returned King Joric and his people to Elydonia" Fotherington admitted "then we would finally get to sail off to Berk; the Master was really looking forward to honing his tracking skills with you and your dragon... but then this had to happen."

"So how long have you been in Elydonia?" Astrid asked.

"Oh we snuck across the border less than a week after you escaped from the tower in New Loran; we've been pretending to be locals and gathering information ever since" Fotherington nodded "when we found out about the new ship that was being given to your father... I mean... your Chief, we all began posing as Elydonian sailors; we even forged our orders to get posted to the Berk Fleet, as it was dubbed."

"I'm with Hiccup" Fishlegs eyed Fotherington "I don't trust this guy."

"Well... we will soon see if he can be trusted or not" Astrid smirked "I have a little plan."

* * *

**Well... it's time to come clean about some of the claims I made in the Author Notes of chapter 19. This time I will cover swimming with a twelve foot Hammerhead shark.**

**As you would imagine from reading these claims, I do like spending time in the sea (or any water for that matter) to escape the heat of the Australian summer. About 30 years ago I decided to learn how to Scuba Dive, so I took a few courses in 'Open Water' and 'Advanced' diving (pretty common these days). On one of the deep training dives, the Dive Master took us several miles off Port Stanvac where the water is just over 100 feet deep. The four of us had just entered the water when the Boat Master called out that there was a Hammerhead Shark about 30 feet away. Since none of us had ever seen one before, we all began swimming towards it. We never got to see more than its fin and tail because as soon as it saw that four strange blobs were advancing, it took off like a shot and we never saw it again.**


	21. Chapter 21

21 Minor Reunion

Kara studied the map rolled out before her and marked off another hundred square miles of ocean. As the sun rose higher overhead in the late morning, her hopes of an early breakthrough in the search had completely faded away.

"Take your team an hour due south and search this area next" she ordered Ack "hopefully you'll have more luck there."

"Okay, but maybe we should see if Hiccup has any news first."

Kara followed the direction of Ack's gaze and saw the Night Fury swooping down from on high. Hiccup dropped onto his feet... well... foot, as soon as the dragon touched down and hurried over to talk to the gathered Vikings.

"Any news from the searchers?" was the first thing Hiccup asked.

"Nothing positive yet" Kara answered "we started searching at first light and you can see the areas we've covered so far here on the map. I've been concentrating the main body of Dragon Riders due south and towards the southeast but I'm not sure if we should move westerly from here or just keep pushing further south."

"I informed Sigfus and the others in Bolthorn Castle what Little Freya told us about the island, and he said that would fit in with the new journey Dad planed. Sigrid talked Joric into going along so they didn't head for Lookout Island as we thought, but instead sailed due west from Bolthorn towards two small islands about three days away."

"I wonder why Sigrid wanted to go too?" Kara noted "I thought she'd given up long sea voyages after her first trip to Elydonia."

"It may have had something to do with the fact that she's having a baby next spring" Hiccup informed them all.

Receiving such good news while planning a search and rescue, meant it was truly a time of mixed emotions for the Dragon Riders. Some wanted to cheer, but felt they had to wait until the mother-to-be and her shipmates were all safely home again.

"So chances are they were anchored at one of those two islands you mentioned, and that's what Freya would have seen" Ack noted as he broke the silence "But I don't see any islands on our map."

"No but Sigfus showed me where they are on his charts and it looks like we will have no trouble getting to them by mid afternoon." Hiccup pointed to the general area of ocean on his map where the islands were reported to be.

"Do the people at Bolthorn Castle know who might have carried out the attack?" Starkard asked.

"It is possible that it was other Vikings from the wild north; Prince Godfred says that they have raided Elydonia in the past. But it is most likely to be the forces of the New Loren Empire; apparently Emperor Scias likes to think that he has sovereign right over the entire ocean."

Kara noticed that the Dragon Master was looking very wobbly on his feet as he informed them all of his news and she began to suspect that he had not yet stopped to rest at all since leaving Berk.

"You promised me that you would get some sleep while you were in Elydonia" she accused "what happened?"

"Wait... no... I said that Toothless would be able sleep through the night, but I had things to do... meetings, getting information and stuff like that; I got some rest though."

"You obviously haven't had anywhere near enough sleep; Astrid warned me about you."

"What... when?"

"Alright then... she didn't so much 'warn' me, but she did tell me that you do tend to push yourself too much during a crisis."

"When did she say that?" Hiccup seemed a little offended.

"Oh... sometimes we get together with Ruffnut and Big Freya and... well... you know... chat."

"And exactly what else did she tell you about me during these little... chats?"

"Err... you don't want to know" Kara smiled sheepishly.

"I do!" Ack piped up eagerly as his team smiled and nodded in agreement.

"WILL YOU JUST GET TO WORK" Hiccup stamped his good foot causing Ack and his group to scatter "what is it with Vikings and gossip?"

"Are you kidding me?" Kara grinned "Ever since you and Astrid announced your engagement, your relationship has been the number one subject on Berk. You have to remember Hiccup, that we no longer think of nothing more than killing dragons these days; now we obsess on Hiccup the Dragon Master and Astrid the Queen of stunt flying, not to mention her tracking contests with Stormfly. The general consensus is that you and she will be responsible for producing the first of a new generation of Elite Dragon Riders, born to the saddle to master the skies."

"You're all nuts" Hiccup declared.

"Hey... we're Vikings... and besides, we need to have something to look forward to as we sit and talk in the Great Hall throughout the long, boring winter nights; we even have a major betting pool going."

"What on Berk are you betting on now... or don't I want to know?"

"Oh anything and everything" Kara laughed.

"Such as?" Hiccup eyed her suspiciously.

"Date of the wedding, birth of first child, boy or girl... that sort of thing."

"You're definitely all nuts" Hiccup repeated.

"So you've said; now I strongly suggest that you catch some sleep while we all break camp and make for those islands."

"No time" Hiccup protested "we have to recommence the search as soon as we..."

But he never had the chance to finish giving orders. In a mild form of Viking mutiny, Kara tapped Hiccup lightly on the head with her shield before throwing him over her shoulder.

"Alright... so... it was more than a suggestion; SOMEONE BRING ME A ZIPPLEBACK" Kara cried out.

* * *

"Welcome to your new home" one of the Imperial Soldiers smirked as Stoick and the other prisoners were marched off the ship.

The Viking Chief had been very impressed with the harbour facilities at Bolthorn Castle in Elydonia when he had first seen them, but the Naval Shipyard in the country of New Loren surpassed anything he ever could have imagined. There must have been more than two thousand men on the docks; a few hundred of them were guarding the prisoners as they were taken ashore, while the rest were busily unloading ships. The harbour spread out for at least a mile on either side and there were so many vessels at the moorings that some ships had to wait offshore at anchor until room was made for them to come ashore and unload. Some of the cargo was being loaded onto wagons and being sent off into inland, but most of what was being unloaded consisted of wood, rope and forged metal products for the busy shipyards adjacent to the docks. As Stoick marched at the front of the line of prisoners, he marvelled at the number and size of the ships being built. He smiled at the thought of how he had been taken in a surprise night attack by twelve of these ships, but thanks to just three of his dragons, eight of the attacking vessels now lay on the bottom of the sea. Hiccup and half of Berk were still out there somewhere, so this Emperor did not know how much trouble he was really in.

As if to accentuate Stoicks thought, Ghost chose that moment to follow the prisoners on their forced march; he lifted off the mizzen yard causing the ships company to look around nervously as the moored ship rocked back and forth for no apparent reason.

"What was that?" asked a horseman who waited on the dock.

The sailors he addressed just shivered and shrugged.

"This has been one of the weirdest voyages we've ever been on" one of them remarked "I don't know how many dragons these people have, but it didn't take many to sink most of our ships."

"And even though we outnumbered their warriors by about ten to one, if we hadn't caught them by surprise, we would not have been able to take them at all" another noted.

"But the sentry on their big ship still managed to raise the alarm" the third added "and she was only a young girl who fought like a tiger."

"A tiger with an axe" the first remarked.

"STOP THAT GOSSIPING AND GET BACK TO YOUR WORK" Captain Pratt declared as he marched down the gangway and approached the horseman "Take this letter to the capital and see that it gets to His Imperial Majesty with all speed."

"Y-yes sir" he saluted before carrying out his orders.

* * *

"YOU THERE" the junior officer pointed at Fotherington "I don't recognise you; what are you up to over there?"

Fotherington jumped out of the lifeboat and on to the deck of the Mighty Ivar looking quite dashing in the uniform of an Imperial Sailor.

"Able Seaman Caruthers at you service Sir" Fotherington saluted "my ship went down in the battle Sir."

"So many new men these days" the officer sighed "ever since the Emperor ordered an increase in the size of the Imperial Fleet, I haven't been able to keep up. You didn't answered my question Caruthers; what were you doing up in the boat."

"Well... since we've got so many wild beasts on board, I thought it would be a good idea to make sure that all the boats were ready to launch... just in case Sir; it doesn't take much effort for a few dragons to sink a ship."

"Don't be stupid man; we've got them all locked up safe and sound."

Yes Sir... but I overheard the prisoners talking Sir... and they were saying that it was only a matter of time before the dragons got sick and tired of being locked up and started to break out. Hopefully we'll make port before that happens, but just in case..."

"DON'T BE STUPID MAN" the officer barked "you can't believe anything those barbarians say; the dragons aren't going anywhe..."

In a case of perfect timing, Hookfang chose that very moment to give off a mighty roar of frustration and hit the floor of his pen with his tail causing the whole ship to vibrate; this set off the other dragons and they all started growling.

"Check that there is a good supply of water in each boat and make sure that all bung plugs are firmly secured."

"Yes Sir" Fotherington saluted "right away Sir."

* * *

"Hi Hiccup" a blurry face greeted the Dragon Master as he slowly regained consciousness.

"Hey Victor" Hiccup replied as he rolled over and almost nodded off to sleep again.

"VICTOR?" Hiccup sat bolt upright and quickly looked around while trying to work out where on earth he was.

Toothless was curled up beside him and in the distance, he could see a large group of Vikings gathered in a circle. Dragons and riders were coming and going from the southeast and sitting nearby with Victor, were Stormfly and Little Freya. As the reality of the whole scene slowly sank in, Hiccup decided that the time was ripe for a small tantrum.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" he shouted causing the Vikings to stop their meeting and turn towards him.

"Ah... Hiccup; glad to see you're awake at last" Olaf declared "we've got lots to tell you."

"KARA... YOU'VE GOT SOME 'SPLAINING TO DO!" declared Hiccup in an uncharacteristically Cuban accent.

"Oh don't blame Kara" Mulch dismissed "you defiantly needed to rest if you were going to lead us on the rescue mission to New Loren."

Hiccup suddenly realised who he was talking to and decided that 'tantrum time' was now over, and it was now 'catch up and explanation time'.

"Mulch... Olaf... how did you get here... and just as importantly, WHERE IS HERE?"

"This is one of the islands you told us about; your information about them was spot on." Kara informed him "The attack on our ships took place in the bay, just a few hundred yards offshore; the water isn't deep there so you can still see the main mast of the Noble Pigg as well as the wrecks of some of the New Loren fleet. The Sharktooth is in bad shape and beached on the shore fifty yards away."

"The attackers took the Mighty Ivar with nearly all of the dragons still on board in their pens and left with only four of their own ships still intact" Olaf took up the story "but they were all damaged."

"We've got prisoners" Mulch grinned as Hiccup tried to take everything in "Hak is commanding the Elydonian guard detail in a small cave in the hill behind us; he made it ashore with a few others after the Pigg sank.

"So it was the Emperors forces" Hiccup fumed "So where have you been concentrating the search?"

"That's the best bit" Ack grinned "Olaf was able to give us the heading the attackers took... and we found them."

"WHAT!?" Hiccup jumped "AND YOU DIDN'T THINK TO TELL ME THAT FIRST?"

* * *

**The story behind the dolphin rescue.**

**Back in my diving days, a report came on the local TV news that two very small Common Dolphins had been washed ashore on a suburban beach during a bout of rough weather. They were taken to the local sea life rescue centre to be cared for while they recovered, but their chances were slim. The dolphins were so small and their condition so poor, that each one had to be held up at the surface of the water by hand to prevent them from drowning.**

**For almost two weeks, teams of Vets, biologists and volunteers took turns standing in the chest deep cold water to hold a baby dolphin for an hour or two. This went on 24 hours a day until they were at last strong enough to swim around the rescue pool unaided, and a few months later, they were released back into the sea healthy and strong.**

**So what did I do? Not much; I just stood in the water holding one of the dolphins for just over an hour on a Saturday afternoon. Hundreds of volunteers did the same, but the true heroes were the ones who did multiple shifts day after day as the weeks went by. They were amazing... that water was freezing.**


	22. Chapter 22

22 Fancy Meeting You Here

"EVERYONE GET TO YOUR DRAGONS; WE ATTACK AT ONCE!"

"WHOA whoa slow down Hiccup" Mulch begged "it's too risky to attack now, they'll see us coming."

"We're keeping a close eye on the two ships we've found" Kara informed Hiccup "and I suggest that you go check out the situation yourself first before you rush in."

"Alright... alright" Hiccup took a deep breath and looked around again while trying to think. There was something wrong; something very wrong but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Even though he was now well rested, his head still hurt a little as a result of the light tap from Kara's shield so he sat down on a rock for a while and rubbed the lump on his head.

"Are you okay Hiccup?"

"I'll be fine Victor; it's just a little headache from the... VICTOR... HOW ON EARTH DID YOU GET HERE?"

"Young Victor joined us back at Port Yoric" Olaf smiled as he patted the boys head "his big brother is on the Mighty Ivar but he thought it would a good idea for the lad to learn about Viking ships while we were learning about Elydonian ships; he's a fast learner too."

'OF COURSE HE'S A FAST LEARNER, THAT'S HIS JOB; HE'S AN IMPERIAL SPY FROM NEW LOREN" Hiccup was beginning to think everyone had gone crazy "HAVE YOU ALL GONE CRAZY?"

Olaf look at the young boy with surprise "Are you really an enemy spy lad?"

"No sir; I'm the assistant to the apprentice of an enemy spy sir."

"Oh... well" Olaf pondered "I guess that's alright then."

"No... no... it's not alright" Hiccup fumed.

"But we left New Loren months ago" Victor protested "Master Darius didn't lie to you sir; he's not working for General Karoc anymore sir."

"See Hiccup" Olaf grinned "they're working for King Joric now."

"Well... strictly speaking sir... we're not working for anyone, but we're definitely NOT working against you; Master Darius just wants to..." Victor suddenly realised he was saying too much.

"Wants to what?" Olaf asked.

"He wants to go to Berk and learn how to track dragons without being detected" Hiccup noted "it's kind of an obsession."

Hiccup had become accustomed to having a dragon nuzzling him almost constantly as he went about his business but he was not used to having two pushing on him from both left and right at the same time. He turned to Stormfly and began to rub her chin as he looked at Little Freya suspiciously.

"And what's your excuse."

"I thought Astrid might need her dragon back" she looked back innocently.

"Someone else could have brought Stormfly" Hiccup noted accusingly.

"I was worried about Mummy too."

"She and Agnar arrived on Lookout Island while we were breaking camp" Kara informed Hiccup "so we brought them with us."

"AGNAR'S HERE TOO?" Hiccup was close to exploding.

"Over here Chief" Agnar waved from the back.

"I told you to stay on Berk" Hiccup fumed "they need someone with knowledge of healing and medicine."

"And they have Gothi."

"GOTHI DOESN'T SPEAK! AND THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO CAN INTERPRET HER ARE PRISONERS, OR HERE ON THIS ISLAND!"

"Oh she'll be alright" Agnar dismissed Hiccup's concerns.

"Now I know how my father feels when I don't listen to him" Hiccup sighed.

* * *

"It's over there now" the Imperial Soldier shivered as he pointed.

"I wish I knew what it was" his companion remarked "it's making me nervous."

"Did you ever see the 'Thing in the Tower'?"

"Are you kidding me? No one ever saw the thing in the tower; it was like a ghost."

"Some people say it was a ghost."

"Ghosts don't bite people's heads off."

"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING OVER THERE?" the commander of the prisoner detail barked.

"Err... nothing sir" both men saluted.

"Well stop doing nothing and do something; the prisoners have rested long enough so get back on the road...NOW!"

"Yes sir, right away sir."

All the guards began poking and kicking the Vikings and sailors and ordered them all to recommence the march towards the New Loren capital. The officer in charge could not believe his good fortune because less than a minute later, a long procession of elite soldiers came down the road from the capital on horseback and in the very centre of the troops, rode the Imperial Guard escorting the Emperors carriage; it would not have been good for the officer's health if the Emperor had found them all sitting by the side of the road. As the prisoners marched passed the Imperial Coach two of the Vikings whispered to each other.

"I see that Ghost has the horses spooked" Gobber grinned as some of the mounted soldiers suddenly found it difficult to control their steeds.

"I think he has some of our guards a bit worried too" Stoick nodded with a smile.

"I never realised just how handy it is having a Changewing around" Gobber pondered "we should try and train up a few more when all this is over with. I must admit that I wasn't sure when Hiccup and Astrid brought Ghost back with them last autumn, but there's no doubt about it now; he's a real asset."

"Chalk another one up to the best dragon trainers on Berk" Stoick declared with a smirk on his face.

"Aye..." Gobber noted in his best deadpan voice "you must be very proud."

"Naturally" Stoicks grin doubled in size.

A long, unpleasant face emerged from the Imperial Coach and spoke to the head of the Emperor's personal guards who in turn called out loudly for both processions to halt immediately. As soon as this had been accomplished, the owner of the unpleasant face stepped out and hurried to the front of the prisoners.

"I am Borges; trusted advisor to His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Scias the Great."

"He's laying it on a bit thick" Gobber whispered.

"Which one of you is Stoick the Viking Chief?" Borges concluded his short speech.

Stoick the Vast began to open his mouth in reply but was soon cut off.

"I'm Stoick the Vast" Gobber stepped forward.

Before Borges could react to the revelation, Spitelout also cried out.

"No, I'm Stoick... over here."

Thorfinn and Odd were the next two to declare their Stoickness before several others joined in, including one particularly confused Viking who declared his name to be Spartacus.

"And what about you" Borges asked an Elydonian Sailor "I suppose your name is Stoick as well."

"Me... no" he replied "my name is Brian... the so is my wife's."

"Leave them Borges" Emperor Scias called out from his coach "Let the guards take them all to the cells. You may torture them later; I want to meet King Joric and see my dragons."

* * *

Astrid's prediction about the restless dragons had come true not long after she had given it, but the situation had been getting steadily worse as the hours passed. The sailors and soldiers from New Loren would have been nervous enough in the present circumstances, but the fact that Fotherington had disguised himself as one of them, and had spent the last several hours moving throughout the ship spreading rumours about the coming Dragon Apocalypse, did not help their mood at all. As much as he did not want to admit it, General Karoc was beginning to see that what Astrid had warned him about, was right and he would have to act quickly. He did not have much time left before the ships would arrive in port and he knew that his reputation with the Emperor would suffer greatly if he handed over a ship full of crazed and angry dragons, but if they could be calmed down and presented as trained and noble creatures... that would certainly be better for his health and his future.

"Alright" he declared to the Dragon Riders "I am not as pigheaded as you supposed and I admit that I was wrong; now what do you suggest we do to make those dragons calm and happy again?"

"Let them go" Fishlegs said simply.

"But since we know you won't do that, let us take them out for a short flight so they can stretch their wings and feed themselves" Astrid declared.

"There is no way that I am letting you take all the dragons out at once" Karoc sneered.

"Okay then; half at a time" Astrid compromised.

"So you can all escape with half your dragons? I don't think so."

"We wouldn't leave half our dragons behind" Ruffnut declared in a huff.

"We wouldn't leave one behind" Fishlegs added and the girls nodded in agreement.

"Then you're all foolish" Karoc sneered "I'll let one of you go to take half the dragons out. But if you're not back within half an hour, the boy loses his hands and if you're not back in an hour, he loses his life and then I move on to the girl; do I make myself clear?"

"As crystal" Fishlegs gulped.

"And I thought Borges was cruel" Astrid glared.

"If Borges were here, he would cut off one of the boys hands now just to show you that he means business" General Karoc grinned "but I am happy to settle for a finger if it will help you get the message."

"NO!" Astrid cried out "I... I get the message."

* * *

"Any idea where the other ships are?" Hiccup asked as he surveyed the vessels below.

"There are two possibilities I can think of; either they went on ahead with some of the prisoners because they were faster or..." Kara began.

"Or what?"

"Or they were sunk when the morons tried to put dragons on board."

"Oh I hope that wasn't it" Hiccup worried "I'd hate to think that any of our dragons may have gone down with the ship."

Hiccup remembered quite vividly how Toothless had almost drowned while chained to the deck of his father's longship during the battle against the Red Death on Dragon Island. The thought of that fate befalling the dragons he had known and loved for the last two years made him sick to his stomach.

"Don't worry Babe; all the dragons are alive, but they're not all very happy at the moment."

"Well that's a relief" Hiccup sighed "Now all we have to... ASTRID!"

Only Hiccup knew how worried he was about her, and only Astrid knew how much she missed Hiccup, but some of the other Dragon Riders got a slight hint when Hiccup moved his new metal foot into the forward position causing his dragons tail to flatten out. He looped Toothless in a half barrel roll and swept over the top of Viper and his rider; it wasn't easy to kiss when flying upside down but luckily Hiccup knew exactly what he was doing.

"Awwwww, that's sweet" Kara declared while the other riders just smiled and sighed.

"I was so worried about you" Hiccup declared as Toothless completed his roll and levelled off again.

"And I missed you too" Astrid replied "but we don't have much time; I've got to get back."

"WHAT!? You can't go back."

"I have to Hiccup; Karoc only let me out to keep the dragons from tearing the ship apart and if I'm late getting them back, Fishlegs gets his hands cut off."

"Damn" Hiccup fumed "how long have you got?"

"Not long now, but I should be able to meet up with you again when I take out the rest of the dragons."

"How is everyone?" he asked nervously.

"Only Fishlegs and Ruffnut are still on the Mighty Ivar; all the others were sent on ahead on faster ships they called Clippers."

"HA; I was right" Kara boasted.

"I know there are some dead" Astrid continued "but the only one I saw was Fjori; Your dad's okay though and so is Gobber."

"How about Big Freya? Her daughter is worried."

"She's fine; just some bruises" Astrid smiled "and get this; Fotherington is on board with us. He was posing as an Elydonian sailor, but now he's stolen some New Loren clothes and is helping us cause unrest amongst our captors."

"It figures" Hiccup sighed "Victor was on the Sharktooth: do you know where Darius is?"

"I haven't seen him since the attack so I assume he is either with your Dad, or he drowned when the Noble Pigg went down."

"I think it would take more than a sinking ship to stop Darius Gershwin" Hiccup noted.

"Me too Babe; well... I'd better go... I love you."

"I love you more... and so does she."

Astrid turned her head to where Hiccup was pointing and broke into a joyous smile.

"Stormfly! It's so good to see you girl; I have to take Viper back or Karoc's men will notice the change" she noted to Hiccup "but I'll ride a Nadder next time so I can swap and take Stormfly back with me."

She turned back to her dragon and sent her the hand signals to follow Hiccup; Stormfly cried out in acknowledgment of the order.

"See you soon Babe" Astrid waved as she swooped away.

Hiccup sighed deeply as Viper and his beautiful rider grew smaller in the distance; the knot in his gut tightened as he tried his best to keep his mind on the job at hand.

"Starkard and I will stay here with Stormfly till Astrid gets back; I want you to head back to the island and prepare everyone for attack" Hiccup ordered Kara "We go tonight."

* * *

**Celebrity Jellyfish: A couple of short stories today.**

**As many of you know, when I'm not writing or playing Minecraft, I work as a bus driver. Before I started doing that, I was a driver for a Luxury Hire Car company so I occasionally got to take celebs to and from the airport and their hotels, but (and it's a big but) they were usually locals so nobody out side South Australia would know most of them.**

**As for the jellyfish, I was on a Night Training dive in the late 1980's when we were surrounded by a... what do you call a group of jellyfish; a school, a swarm? Okay then... I was surrounded by a big bunch of little jellyfish; the bell was about the size of an average fist, and the stingers were about 18 inches long. Fortunately I was in a full wetsuit so I managed to avoid getting stung... almost. At the end of the dive, one of the jellyfish got caught on the top of my face mask when I broke the surface. I picked it up by the bell and put it back in the water, but I ended up with 3 parallel red lines across my forehead where the stingers got me... ouch.**


	23. Chapter 23

23 The Emperor and the King

The chains around Stoick's body weighed heavily on the Viking chief as he trudged along the road. None of the prisoners had eaten since they left the ship and it was beginning to show on all their faces and in each of their stumbling steps.

"Excuse me Your Leadershipness... sir" a very familiar looking old man enquired of the Guard Captain "with your permission sir, I'll hand out some food to the prisoners during the next rest stop; they appear to be slowing down a tad... well... quite a lot actually."

"There will be no more resting" he replied "as it is, we won't make the Capital before night fall and I don't want to spend the night out here; who are you anyway?"

"Oh err... I was charged with taking care of the prisoners on the ship sir."

"So what are you doing here then?"

"Well... you see sir... nobody told me to stop taking care of them, so I just... came along too."

"Well we don't need you any more so get back to your ship and I never want to see your face again; understood?"

"Understood sir; fair weather and good fortune to you sir" the old man declared as he turned and left.

The Guard Captain looked to the road ahead satisfied that he had seen the last of that annoying old man, but he would be very surprised during the next head count. Not only did he find that he had not lost any prisoners, but he had actually gained one.

* * *

"THERE'S TWO MISSING" General Karoc screamed at the top of his lungs "DID YOU THINK YOU WOULD GET AWAY WITH THIS?"

"Please... I'm sorry" Astrid begged before Fishlegs paid the awful price "I ordered them all back, it just that the Gronckles are much slower that the others. I still have a few minutes left, don't I?"

Before the furious General could respond, one of the ships lookouts called down that he had spotted the last two dragons bobbing slowly along like two giant Bumble Bees.

"You were lucky this time" he spat "but I don't like being made to look the fool."

"I am sorry General; I'll try to do better next time."

"Next time it will be your life on the line girl; your dopey looking friend will take the next group out"

"Hey!" Ruffnut sneered at the Generals offending remark.

"And you will stay here and hope she is more responsible that you were; your hands are so pretty... it would be a shame if you were to lose them."

The three Dragon Riders led the slightly happier dragons back to their pens below deck and prepared to take the other half out.

"Thanks for coming back in time Astrid" Fishlegs was still shivering at the thought of losing his hands.

"Yeah... Hiccup was quite upset when I told him I couldn't stay" Astrid whispered.

"You saw Hiccup?" Fishlegs whispered rather loudly; too loudly for Astrids liking.

"Quiet!" she hissed "I didn't notice him until my time was almost up. So Ruffnut, you make sure you head up to the clouds as soon as you can; tell him what we know and find out what he's planning.

"Righty O" Ruffnut took her saddle from rack in her Zippleback's stall, but Astrid lifted it from her hands and gently placed it back.

"It's very important Ruff, that you ride Swiftwing this time."

Out on deck, the Dragon Riders gave each individual dragon the order to go feed and return before setting off, while Karoc and his men watched on.

"You seem to have these beasts very well trained" the General noted as Ruffnut and Swiftwing disappeared from sight "but why are you looking so worried girl; your friend doesn't have any of those slow dragons in her charge."

"No... but she has Hookfang in her group. Dragons tend to take after their riders; his is rather lazy and undisciplined."

"Oh dear" General Karoc smirked "how unfortunate for you my dear."

* * *

"PRESENT... ARMS!"

The imperial soldiers under Captain Pratt's command stood stone still in perfect rows as the Emperor's coach passed by before coming to a halt near the Clipper Ship. Eight members of Scias's personal guard leapt from their horses and lined up on either side with their backs to the carriage door and their swords drawn; when a man is hated by his own people as much as Scias was, he cannot afford to take chances. This was why the Emperor normally spent most of his time in the safety of the palace, but the anticipation he felt at the impending arrival of his new dragons, was just too much for him to bear and he just had to see them as soon as they arrived. The Imperial Coach was almost three times as long and twice as wide as a normal carriage or wagon and it no signs of life for almost ten minutes while Pratt's men continued to stand at full attention with their swords at arm's length; one by one the tips of their swords began to droop as their muscles began to burn.

The coach door finally opened but Emperor Scias still failed to appear; instead it was Borges who made his way down and approached Captain Pratt.

"The Emperor wishes to speak with you Captain; I suggest that you do not keep him waiting" it was plain to see that Borges was not pleased for some reason, and Captain Pratt just hoped that Scias was in a better mood.

"Err... yes sir... permission to have the men stand easy sir?"

"Yes, yes of course" Borges waved his hand in dismissal of Pratt's concerns "just hurry up about it."

"STAND AT... EASE" the Captain ordered before hurrying to the coach steps.

"Captain Julius Pratt at your service Your Highness" he declared to the open door "you err... wanted to see me sir?"

"Please, do come in Captain" the Emperor's slippery voice seemed to run physically down the steps "but that accent of yours; Elydonian is it not?"

"Err, yes Majesty; I was once a Captain in the Elydonian Navy" Julius Pratt had never felt so totally out of control in his entire life.

"And it was you who sent word to me that amongst your prisoners was the King of Elydonia himself; is that not right?"

"Y-yes Majesty" Pratt had assumed that the Emperor would be greatly pleased to have King Joric as his prisoner, but now he was beginning to wonder if he would be very lucky enough to see the sun rise tomorrow.

"So you gladly betray your King; do you expect to be rewarded for this act of treason?"

"If y-you p-please Majesty... Joric was never my King; I served in the court of King Rekkur until he was overthrown by this man and imprisoned."

"So you did not fight to free your King; instead you simply fled to the New Loren Empire for a better life."

"Well... err... everyone else... that is... all my colleagues... began to serve the new King and so I..."

"You didn't fight to the death?" Scias feigned surprise "Answer me this Captain; how can a man such as you be trusted, having given up on your King so quickly?"

"But Majesty... I haven't given up... I just didn't want to give my services to this man who was not the rightful King and... so I came... err..." Pratt felt strongly that he was losing his own argument when a burst if inspiration hit like one of Toothless's plasma bolts.

"I came here to serve you Majesty; the rightful ruler of this mighty empire." Pratt was on a roll now "Every land you have entered to the south and east has been blessed to come under your rule and so I was sure that in time, Elydonia would also gladly join in New Loren statehood with Rekkur as Regent; following your orders and helping to keep the Empire safe from barbarians like the Dragon Riders. But when this false King took the throne, I decided that the best thing to do was to offer you my services straight away."

"So you want me to invade your former home and free your King for you?"

"Oh no Majesty; I merely wish to serve but as I said, it is only a matter of time before the known world comes completely under your protection and rule... as it should."

Captain Pratt could feel the relief flowing over him as the Emperor smiled, although it was more like a self satisfied smirk. Scias was not so much pleased at the thought of ruling the world, but was very satisfied that he could still make someone who had just done him a great service, feel like they were just a small and insignificant cog in the machine of empire; and very fortunate to be so.

* * *

"Hey... that's not Astrid" Starkard declared as Swiftwing drew closer with Ruffnut "Are you going to kiss her while flying upside down too?"

"Oh Starkard" the Dragon Master beckoned.

"Yes Hiccup?"

"Shut up!"

"Yes Hiccup."

The dragons from the Mighty Ivar splashed around in the ocean below, playing and feeding as Ruffnut and Swiftwing flew into formation with the other two riders.

"I hope your presence here doesn't mean something has happened to Astrid" Hiccup noted nervously.

"She fine lover boy" Ruffnut smirked "General Karoc just likes to mix things up in a vain attempt to keep us off balance; so what's your plan?"

"I can't think of anything brilliant" Hiccup admitted "so the plan is this; you swap dragons and take Stormfly back to Astrid, and we will attack tonight... no... before dawn when everyone is still asleep; so be ready."

"You got it Boss" Ruffnut waved a kind of salute before peeling off to swap dragons.

Although she was nowhere nearly as good as Astrid at stunt riding, Ruffnut managed to swap dragons without looking too silly, and soon she was dropping back down towards the ocean on a similar looking, but slightly bigger dragon."

* * *

Emperor Scias said nothing for several minutes as King Joric just stood before him in manacles (or as we say in our modern and enlightened times, personacles). While the Emperor had been making Captain Pratt sweat, Borges had ordered the guards to bring the Elydonian King from the ship so he would be ready as soon as Scias desired to see him. As a result of this, Joric found himself in earshot of the open carriage door during Pratt's nervous speech; he had smiled of course at the Captains desperation.

"Of course you realise that very little of what Julius told you was true."

"Naturally... I'm not a fool" Scias smirked "So then... would you like to tell me your side of the story... King Joric?"

"To tell the truth, I don't see the point; you'll just believe whatever suits you and kill anyone who disagrees."

"Ah... so... my reputation precedes me; it is refreshing though, not to be in the presence of just another pandering toad."

"One again, I don't see the point; I was dead the moment we landed in New Loren."

"Oh don't be like that; it might be nice to have a prisoner who is brave enough to indulge in a little... straight talk."

"Until you get too worried about anyone else hearing my 'Straight Talk'. Then you'll have me thrown into a deep pit somewhere."

"I see you know the score... Joric the Fourth of Bolthorn."

"Fifth actually; and I see that you know about my legitimate claim to the throne of Elydonia."

"Indeed; and in that matter, your traitorous Captain Pratt was right. Even before this business with the Dragon Riders, we had been making plans to annex Elydonia as soon as the rest of the Empire was stable enough. Rekkur was never well liked here or in your country, so I thought that all I had to do was to give him enough time to become really hated, and then march in and take over; not as a conqueror, but as a saviour."

"But my ascension to the throne spoiled your little party then?"

"It wasn't one of my favourite occurrences, but I knew we'd find our way round to taking over your lands eventually. Then those dragons appeared here late last year... that was just too delightful. Do you have any idea how far and wide I have been searching for creatures such as these... and for how long?"

"Err... a long time?" Joric offered while not caring.

"I took over from my father as nothing more than a King... like you, but I knew; oh yes I knew that there were creatures out there that most people couldn't begin to imagine and in order to find them, I needed ships; ships and men. Many more than a kingdom could produce and so the first fleet I sent out was to conquer; I conducted my search while I built my empire, but all I could find were rumours and legends that were no more than stories, but then... in my own country... flying reptiles that turned out to be dragons... and with riders who were little more than children."

The Emperor face, that had been so full of delight, suddenly turned very serious and solemn.

"And now I discover that they are your friends and allies... I'm afraid I can't allow that."

* * *

**You may remember that in the past I had mentioned that**** I had travelled through a war zone and been surrounded by men with automatic weapons; of all the stories told so far, this is one of the biggies.**

**It took place in central Sri Lanka in the late 1990's – early 2000's (I've lost track a bit) on my second trip there. The war was still going on at the time, so we stayed in Negombo on the west coast just north of the capital of Colombo. Some of the local people we knew, told us that there was a Cease Fire on, that had been holding for a few months; therefore it was currently safe to go to Jaffna on the northern coast where they had friends. So after a few days planning, four of us piled into a Toyota HiAce and set off along roads covered with pot holes, and landmine warning signs every kilometre.**

**Several times through the day, we had to stop at military checkpoints, show our passports and explain our presence there. Every time we stopped, the soldiers would assume we were American (this was not a problem because they don't hate Americans in Sri Lanka, they quite like them) but when they heard we were from Australia, all the soldiers close by would rush over excitedly to ask questions. Was it because they loved Aussies? No; they just wanted to find out what was happening with the cricket matches leading up to the Cricket World Cup.**

**I discovered something very interesting that day: When you are surrounded by about thirty battle hardened soldiers with automatic weapons, it is nice to have them smiling and talking about sport.**


	24. Chapter 24

24 What the...

"THIS IS NOT THE SAME DRAGON" the Guard Captain decaled again, louder than the first time.

"And I'm telling you it is" Ruffnut argued "you were here when I took off; you saw that I left on a Nadder."

"Well assuming that this is a Nadder, as you call it, I still say that it is a different Nadder" the Guard Captain hissed.

"What is going on here?" General Karoc sounded very tired as he approached.

The stress of trying to transport a ship load of dragons on a ship full of nervous and jittery sailors was playing havoc, not only with the General, but also with the mood of the entire crew. Astrid winced as the two soldiers holding on to her arms, tightened their grip as they dragged her along behind General Karoc towards the argumentative Dragon Rider.

"This moron thinks I've returned on a different dragon to the one I left the ship on" declared Ruffnut as she stood next to a different dragon to the one she left the ship on.

"It is a different dragon sir" the Guard Captain begged "I was looking at the greenish tinge on the dragons legs before the girl left, but now look at them; they're almost a sky blue."

"Well of course they're a different colour now" Ruffnut clambered for a reason "Storm... err... Swiftwing is err..."

"She is much happier now she's had a chance to stretch her wings a little" Astrid piped in "More than one breed of dragon can change colour; some for camouflage and others, like Nadders, according to their mood."

"Yeah... that's right" Ruffnut agreed "she's more blue because she's not... um... feeling blue. That doesn't sound right."

"Well she's also a foot taller" the Guard Captain insisted.

"Growth spurt" Ruffnut declared adamantly.

"Growth spurt?" the General looked suspiciously at Ruffnut.

"Yes; growth spurt" everyone noticed the wild look that was developing in Ruffnuts eyes.

"I don't know what is going on here but..." the General began.

"Oh I think it's pretty obvious that none of you have any idea what's GOING ON HERE!" Ruffnut blew up "You know nothing about dragons or the nuances of the different breeds. Did you know that Gronckles like to chew on rocks, or that Nightmares can set themselves on fire? Boneknappers like to armour themselves with old bones and you would wet your pants if you ever set eyes on a Red Death. Do you think it would make a difference if you threatened to cut my toes off if I don't stop the dragons from growing? Well guess what bright boy? I CAN'T DO IT; I CAN'T STOP A DRAGON FROM GROWING SO GO AND GET YOUR DAMN TOE CUTTERS."

General Karoc was slightly taken aback, but there was no way that he would put up with such insolence from a prisoner, so he signalled two more soldiers standing near the railing; the men grabbed Ruffnut and dragged her away to the bilge.

"Please General" Astrid begged "she was just frustrated..."

"I've put up with a lot from you all, acting like rude swine, but what she just did was too much" Karoc warned "We should make port tomorrow and then I won't need you anymore. So if you want to keep living, I suggest that you all show me just how useful and cooperative you can be or, you may just end up back in the tower... or dead."

With a turn of his head, General Karoc signalled the men holding Astrid to take her away.

"Shall I put the dragon back in its pen General?" Fotherington asked.

"Who are you?" Karoc barked.

"Caruthers sir; Able Seaman Caruthers at your service."

"And you think you can handle this dragon by yourself Caruthers?"

"I can but try sir."

"Good man" the General smiled at last "we're going to need men like you, willing to jump in and learn how to handle these beasts. If you survive, you'll go far."

'All the way to Berk if I get the chance' Fotherington thought to himself as he picked up Stormfly's reigns and led her below deck.

Soldiers, sailors and guards all took their usual back step as the dragon passed by and all were impressed by Fotherington's apparent bravery; little did they know that he and the dragon were actually old friends.

* * *

The portcullis on the western side of the New Loren capital city was only minutes away from being closed for the night when three riders approached galloping along at high speed from the port road.

"HOLD THE GATES!" the lead horseman cried out "PRISONERS OF THE EMPEROR WILL BE ARRIVING WITHIN THE HOUR."

The chief gatekeeper strode out of the guardhouse to address the soldiers as they crossed the threshold and entered the city.

"Then they can wait outside by the walls until the sunrise" he informed them "Only orders from Emperor Scias can hold the gates."

"Then inspect this" the lead horseman handed over a small scroll "it bears Imperial Seal and the signature of Lord Borges."

The gatekeeper unrolled the scroll and studied it for a moment before raising his arm.

"HOLD THE GATES" he ordered.

* * *

Back at the long line of marching prisoners one of the guards had just finished counting the prisoners again; three times.

"Err... excuse me sir" he sought the attention of the Guard Captain "but you know how we had one extra prisoner at last count?"

"Yes... don't tell me we've got more."

"No sir but... well now we're missing one."

"So we now have the same number we left the port with?"

"That's right sir."

"Oh... well... you must have miscounted last time."

"Oh no sir, I'm sure that I..."

"Would you like to receive a minor disciplinary action for an incorrect head count, or a major one for losing a prisoner?"

The guard thought about this for 7/10ths of a second before he spoke again.

"My apologies sir... for miscounting last time."

While the line of prisoners and their guards marched on, the sun dipped below the horizon behind them and Darius Gershwin made his way down a dark track to an abandoned farm nearby.

* * *

"So... this is the New Loren capital" Gobber noted forty minutes later "impressive... don't ya think?"

"It looks better from the air" Sigrid declared as the prisoners marched through the torch lit streets.

"I always thought it looked like a round shield with long spikes in the middle" Snotlout gave his opinion "from up high anyway."

"HALLOO" Gobber smiled and waved to the citizens who stood opened mouthed as the prisoners were marched off to their cells "THIS IS A LOVELY PLACE YOU'VE GOT HERE."

"It certainly is clean" Stoick noticed "it'll be a shame when Hiccup and the rest of the Dragon Riders get here and have to mess it up a bit."

"How long do you think it will be before we are rescued mister Stoick sir?" one of the Elydonian sailors asked.

"Who knows" Stoick told the sailor what he did not want to hear.

"B-but... you're certain they will come and rescue us sir?"

"Oh they'll come lad" Gobber tried to comfort the worried sailor "I don't know how long it will be before Hiccup notices that we're late getting home, or finds out some other way that we've been captured, but it will happen and he will come; so just stick close to us and do your best to stay alive."

Several of the sailors ended up with Snotlout and Tuffnut hanging from one of the towers in cages while the rest were all taken down into the dungeon; there were so many of them that they had to be crammed in, six to a cell that was only built for two.

"Well isn't this nice and cosy" Spitelout noted "but I'll be happy to stand up for a while Gobber."

"Oh don't bother yourself; I'm quite comfy."

"Well I'm not... so GET OFF MY LAP."

In the cell next door, another one of King Jorics men chatted to Stoick.

"It strange the way things work out, isn't it Chief?" Hak noted "The first time we met, I was one of your prisoners and now here we are; fellow cell mates."

Stoick laughed at the observation and slapped Hak on the back.

"Oh... sorry about that" the Chief apologised as he helped Hak up onto his feet again.

"That's quite alright Chief... just give me a hand to pop me shoulder back in."

* * *

The conversation going on between the sailors up in the cages was very different to the ones in the cells below.

"Why did they have to p-put us up here" one of them asked "I hate high places."

"You're not telling me anything new" another shrugged "you always disappear when someone's needed to climb the mast."

"I'm a sailor, not a trapeze artist" the man protested.

"You're a sailor only as long as someone else takes care of the sails" a third one added.

The sailors all laughed at their friend, but the good mood ended abruptly when a loud thump was heard nearby.

"There's something on the roof" declared the hater of heights.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch" Snotlout shrugged "it's only Ghost."

"You know about the tower ghost?" the new voice called from inside the tower where two guards had been listening to the prisoner's conversations as they stood at their posts.

"Oh yes" Snotlout grinned "thanks to the fact that you once imprisoned one of my friends here, I know all about the tower ghost."

The guards looked at each other and shrugged. They knew nothing about Astrid, or Rose as she called herself back then, or her time in the tower with Victor. The only thing they knew was that the ghost of the tower had not been heard from for many months but if it was back, they were glad to be safe inside the tower and not hanging in a cage outside.

They would not be feeling so smug and safe if they knew exactly what Snotlout was thinking at that very moment, and it did not take Dylan the psychic spider very long to pass on Snotlouts thoughts to the Changewing.

People all over the city were in their homes with their families and enjoying their evening meals, or on their way to one of the many taverns to drink away the stresses of living under the iron fist of Emperor Scias and his soldiers; every last one of them stopped what they were doing and froze as a familiar roar (one they had not heard since the end of last summer) thundered out from the direction of the palace towers and echoed through the streets below. Up in one of those towers, two guards almost jumped out of their skins while a few of the sailors in the cages outside, each had a little accident.

"W-what the hell was that?" asked the one who had been crammed into a cage with Tuffnut.

"Oh come on; don't you recognise a dragon when you hear one by now?" Tuffnut answered "You've been on a ship full of them for almost a week."

"B-but there aren't any dragons... oh."

"We call him Ghost" Tuffnut grinned.

"An invisible dragon" the sailor shrugged "eh... why not?"

Over on the roof of the tower, Ghost moved on to the next task Snotlout had given him to do. The guards had drawn their swords at the sound of the dragons roar, but when the tiles covering the conical tower roof began to fall away, torn off by the Changewings claws, the men quickly abandoned their post and ran for their lives down the wooden spiral stairs slowly being pursued by an armoured spider; shouting and inaudible battle cry and waving a pin.

"HA!" Tuffnut cried out in delight "That was brilliant; what's he gonna do next?"

"Just watch and see" Snotlout smiled mischievously.

The prisoners did not have to wait long to find out as Ghost flew around the tower and began to spit acid onto the hinges and bolt locks of all the cages hanging down the sides of the wall. As the cage doors fell down to the palace roof far below, the Elydonian sailors all kicked open the window shutters and climbed back into the tower.

"That was fun" Tuffnut could not hide his joy "so what do we do now?"

"Oh I think your gonna like this" Snotlout smiled as Ghost started demolishing the top of the tower all around them

"It must be my birthday" Tuffnut bounced with joy "although it's not the usual level of mayhem and destruction I like to see, it is a good start."

"Okay; listen up everyone" the sailors gathered closer to Snotlout to hear him, while doing their best to keep clear of the rubble falling around their feet.

"Those guards are going to tell their boss that the ghost of the tower has returned and is tearing up the tower, so hopefully no one will try to come up here for now. I'm going to take Ghost and head back to where we were first attacked."

"What for?" Tuffnut asked.

"I know the Noble Pigg was sunk but there's a good chance that Olaf and his crew would have managed to row the Sharktooth onto the island before she went under; so I've got to find out what has happened back there. Astrid managed to get Little Freya away on Stormfly, so reinforcements may be on the way if she made it back to Berk; we've got to find out for sure."

"Shouldn't we try and rescue the others in the dungeon first?" one of the sailors asked buoyed by their initial success.

"Half a dozen sailors, two Vikings and a Changewing are no match for a palace full of guards and a city full of soldiers" he told them.

"So what do you want us to do?" Tuffnut asked.

"Hold this tower; if anyone tries to climb up the stairs, make noises like you're being devoured by the 'Ghost of the Tower' and if that doesn't work, throw rocks and rubble down onto them."

"More mayhem' Tuffnut smiled and nodded "I like it."

Snotlout climbed onto Ghost's back and flew off to the west. As he left, he could hear Tuffnut singing as he picked out a good lump of throwing stone.

"Happy birthday to me..."

* * *

**Okay... well... I've saved the best one for last.**

**On one bright sunny day about 30 years ago, my friend Stuart and I had a little day trip planned to Second Valley. This little seaside town has tall hills and rock cliffs right on the water's edge so it is a wonderful place for snorkelling, but because we had no boat to take us out to a better dive sight, we both went Scuba Diving there (it is also quite close to Rapid bay where the Jellyfish incident occurred).**

**As we looked around the sea floor, I noticed a cave mouth in the base of the granite cliff and decided to have a look inside. Hope was rising that this would be a large and impressive cave but as soon as I entered, the roof arced sharply down to meet the sand, and the sand arced up to meet the roof. Even though it was no bigger than a mini van inside, it did contain a large school of very interesting little fish. They were about the size of a fist and triangular, with huge eyes (I assumed they would only leave the caves at night).**

**As I drifted in to have a closer look at them, I was surprised to find that I was moving involuntarily towards the back of the cave with increasing speed, and so I expected to feel my head hit the angled cave roof any second. What happened instead was a complete surprise and shock; the wedge shaped cave turned out to be the mouth of a blowhole in the rock. The volume of water compressed into a long upright tunnel that was about a yard wide and as I looked up, the bright sunlight I saw was only broken by the lumps of granite that protruded all along the inside wall of the blowhole tube. It became instantly apparent that at the speed I was currently being pushed upwards, my skull would be crushed if it came into contact with any one of those rocks, so I pulled my arms in tight to my sides, and kept my legs straight as I could manage.**

**As mild panic set in, every horrid possibility flashed through my mind. The airflow regulator on my air tank could also strike one of the rocks and break off; the air pressure in the tank would then shoot it into the back of my head. The air bottle itself could be split open and explode, but if I managed to avoid all that, then I would soon be shot out of the blowhole to fall back onto the rocks while wearing a heavy air tank and a lead weight belt, resulting in broken bones and internal injuries.**

**As I waited to find which of these fates would befall me, the water suddenly slowed and stopped with the top of my head about five feet from the top of the blowhole tube. It was then that I remembered that the sea was abnormally calm that day. On a normal day the waterspout from this blowhole would be a spectacular sight but even on a day of dead calm, there was still enough surge to send me from over twenty feet below the surface, to being about ten to fifteen feet above sea level; it was at this point that I did the most stupid thing of all.**

**Without thinking, I assumed that I was trapped in this vertical cave and would have to try and climb out, so I put my arms and legs out onto the wall of the hole. It was at this time, that the water level fell away as the sea outside ebbed away, leaving me standing over a deep, dark and now empty hole.**

"**Oh *expletive deleted*" I said to myself not knowing exactly what I should do next.**

**I looked up at the blue sky several feet above me and began to wonder if I should commence climbing or not, when the face of a boy appeared, as he looked into the hole.**

"**MUM; THERE'S A MAN DOWN HERE! He cried out.**

**All of these experiences were so new to me, that every development came as a complete surprise. The next one of these surprises was when the water returned, and flowed back around me again. I realised at last, that the water would always continue to flow in and out, so if I could manage to keep the air tank from hitting the rocks one more time, I might just make it out; so I quickly pulled my arms and legs in again and as the water began to recede, I dropped with it back into the cave.**

**Once I saw those little, big eyed triangles again, I began to feel safe at last so I swam out of the cave before the whole thing started all over again. Back in open ocean again, I saw Stuart nearby and swam over to him. As soon as he saw me, he gave the signal to return to the surface and so we swam up.**

"**Where the hell did you go?" he asked "I saw you swim into that cave but when I followed, you were gone. Then when I came out again, you followed me out a few seconds later."**

**I explained about the blowhole and he declared me to be the luckiest person in the world, before we returned to our dive.**

**I told a few people about my experience and then forgot about it for about 15-20 years, until I remembered it during a conversation with some other friends about diving. The thing I find myself still wondering is what happened to the kid who saw me in the blowhole? Did his mother believe him, or did she think he made it all up? As I am now in my fifties, he would be middle aged by now; perhaps he is sitting alone in a padded room somewhere, just rocking back and forth repeating to himself over and over...**

"**There was a man down the hole... There was a man down the hole... There was a man down the hole... There was a man down the hole..."**


	25. Chapter 25

25 Shadows in the Night

There was not much for Victor to do while dragons and Vikings of all different shapes and sizes, busily prepared for the attack (most prepared by sleeping). He was aware of the young girl watching him as he cooked some fish for the hungry Vikings, but he just ignored her and hoped she would go away.

"Hello" she said at last "my name's Freya and this is Swiftwing."

"Nice dragon" he replied "you must be very proud."

"Yup... she's one of Stormfly's."

"One of Stormfly's what?" Victor asked.

"One of her babies" Little Freya giggled "you're silly."

"I'm silly? You're the one calling that huge dragon a baby."

"She grew up" Freya noted.

"Obviously" Victor agreed.

"She was on the ship, but Hiccup got her back for me."

"Good for him."

"He says he's going to get my Mom back soon... as well as all the others of course."

"Of course; I'm sure he will" Victor smiled.

"Are you going to help?" Freya asked.

"Are you?" Victor enquired.

"No... Hiccup won't let me go; he's making me wait here."

"Then yes; I'm going to help too."

* * *

King Joric shivered in the night air as he stood outside the Imperial Coach. While many people in the world often dream about 'Getting away from it all', Emperor Scias was not one of those people; he liked to take it all with him, and he did not like to share any of it. The coach drivers and footmen had unhitched the team of eight black horses that drew the coach, and taken them off somewhere to be stabled for the night leaving the drivers bench free for Borges to use in his fruitless attempt to get some sleep. Emperor Scias of course, was alone and rugged up cosily inside his carriage while his personal soldiers took hour long rotating shifts outside with orders to stand watch while making sure that the Elydonian King was not even permitted to sit down, let alone sleep. Exhaustion took hold of Joric a few times though and he would collapse on the ground until a hard soled boot roused him again, and two soldiers would pick him up roughly and place him back on his feet once more.

Meanwhile over on the Mighty Ivar, Fotherington made one last attempt to get everything ready before the Dragon Riders attacked in a few hours; he did this by making a request of General Karoc before he returned to his own ship for the night.

"Excuse me General" he approached just as Karoc prepared to climb down to the longboat.

"What is it Caruthers; can't it wait till tomorrow?"

"Well it's about tomorrow sir" Fotherington leaned in and whispered "If we're going to make port in the morning, shouldn't we put the rude prisoner back with the others so she will be presentable when we arrive? I hear rumours that that Emperor himself may just be there to have his first look at his new dragons."

The General considered what Fotherington had said, but only briefly.

"No Caruthers" he declared adamantly "I want those people to get the message; they serve us now and they'd better show some respect if they want to go on living."

"Very good sir" Fotherington saluted and stepped back as the General departed.

"What did the General say?" an Imperial Sailor asked as Karoc was taken away from the Mighty Ivar.

"He said he wanted her left down below for a full five hours" Fotherington lied "so we don't let her out for another twenty minutes."

This seemed to satisfy the men nearby as the kind of thing General Karoc would have said, and if all went according to plan tonight, Fotherington and the Dragon Riders would all be long gone before the General ever found out what really happened.

'Assuming Karoc still survived tomorrow' Fotherington thought to himself.

* * *

"Are you sure it was the Tower Ghost you saw?" a junior officer enquired of the two guards who had fled their post.

"We didn't see anything sir; that's why we're sure that it is the Tower Ghost" the first informed him.

"The ghost is back sir" the second added "and I think the prisoners brought it with them."

This last comment brought a look of surprise from the officer and titters of laughter from the men in his platoon.

"Right... well... I suppose you'd better go back up and see if the prisoners are still alive."

"B-b-but sir..."

"No buts" the officer turned and pointed to two other guards standing nearby "you two go with them and report back what you find."

All the giggling stopped as soon as the men in the platoon realised that any one of them may be sent up the tower at any time. The four who had been ordered up began their long journey up the spiral stairs very delicately, trying not to make the wooden steps creak too loudly, lest they alert the ghost to their presence. Little did they know that Tuffnut and the Elydonian sailors had come up with a plan of their own; so the further up the guards climbed, the more stone rubble and broken beams they found littering the steps. It was hard to see anything in the half moon light and as they peered into the darkness, all they could make out were a few empty cages still hanging on the outside wall. They did not realise that they had just made a grave error; in their assumption that the ghost would still be near to the now demolished roof, nobody thought to check the cages a few flights down from the top as they passed by. The shutters were closed, so it was assumed that if there were still prisoners those cages, they would still be safely locked up; the guards were very wrong. After they had passed by, Tuffnut and two of his allies snuck in the window behind the quartet and crept up the steps behind them while at the same time, Dylan lowered himself on to the back of one unfortunate soldier's neck with his invisible thread. Further up, the rest of the Elydonians lay in wait to take the guards in a pincer trap.

"NOW!" Tuffnut yelled as the guards neared the top.

The sudden cry had the double effect of making the nervous soldiers jump, as well as turn them around; one squealed in pain as a small pin was stabbed into the top of his shoulder. The sailors rose up from where they had hidden by covering themselves in rubble, and attacked the guards from behind with hard lengths of wood. As they fell back down the steps, Tuffnuts team jumped onto the stunned men stripping them of swords and shields.

"What's your name?" Tuffnut demanded to know as he twisted one guards arm behind his back.

"Ahh... oww... Oppenson" the man revealed.

As soon as the information had been obtained, Tuffnut nodded to one of the sailors who hurried a little way down the stairs before shouting out below.

"OH NO... THE GHOST OF THE TOWER HAS BITTEN OPPENSON'S HEAD OFF."

This had the desired effect of scaring the junior officer and discouraging any further attempt to send soldiers up the tower; in fact, he and the men under his command soon hurried out the door in the towers base and onto the palace roof.

"Lock it" he ordered "and let's get out of here.

* * *

"Seriously Hiccup; I know the layout of the area below deck and can get to Astrid and her friends much quicker than you could" Victor begged "and besides... I really want to go."

"You're not just trying to get away from Little Freya are you?" Hiccup crossed his arms and looked at victor suspiciously.

"Maybe... a bit" Victor averted Hiccup's gaze "okay yes, but I really do want to help and you know how well I can slip by the soldiers on the ship unseen."

"Don't sweat it Victor" Hiccup grinned at last "I was going to ask you to come with us anyway."

"What? Why you rotten..." the young man huffed.

"HICCUP" Starkard called out from his lookout post on the high ground of the small island "THERE'S A DRAGON APPROACHING FROM THE EAST."

Even the sleeping Vikings began to stir at the vocal news report as the sound of beating wings grew steadily louder in their ears. Nobody from the Dragon Riders tasked with shadowing the ships was due back before the attack, so everyone was concerned that their plans had fallen over before they were even begun; but that concern turned into pleasant surprise as the Changewing set down near the largest campfire.

"SNOTLOUT!" Hiccup cried out "You would not believe how glad I am to see you; how did you escape... and where did you escape from?"

"I've come from that palace tower Astrid told us about last year... thanks to Ghost" he informed the gathering crowd "so... Olaf managed to get word to you after all."

"It was Stormfly and Little Freya actually" Kara told Snotlout.

"Your timing is perfect" Hiccup added "we're about to go and get our dragons back, and then rescue everyone else; what can you tell us that will help?"

"Okay... get this; Astrid, Ruff and Fishlegs are still on the Mighty Ivar..."

"That much we know" Hiccup pointed out "what happened to everyone else?"

"General Karoc sent us off on these ships they've got called... um... Clappers I think; they're flimsy compared to the warships but fast, so when we reached New Loren, we were all marched off to the city... all except for King Joric."

"What happened to him..." Hiccup started to have a sinking feeling "did they execute him?"

"Well... they hadn't when we left; the captain of the ship I was on, wanted to hand Joric over to the Emperor personally... to get on his good side I guess. Oh... and that spy guy was with us for a while, but he snuck off before we got to the city walls."

"Yes... that makes sense" Hiccup thought "Victor is here and Fothers is on the ship with the dragons, so we've got eyes everywhere. Is everyone in the tower then?"

"Are you kidding? We'd never fit. Me and Tuff were sent up with a dozen or so sailors and the rest got sent down to the dungeon."

"Memories of our first days in Bolthorn eh?" Hiccup smiled.

"Yeah... so what's your plan?"

"The plan has just been changed... now that we have our Changewing on side again" Hiccup smiled as he patted Ghost on the shoulder.

* * *

Ruffnut had tried to keep her feet out of the icy brine that sloshed around the ships keel, but her leg muscles couldn't hold them up forever. By the time Fotherington managed to convince the guard manning the lower hatch that her punishment was well and truly up, her lower legs had gone completely numb.

"Come on then" Fotherington helped the shivering girl out of the bilge and half carried her back to the dragon pen where Fishlegs and Astrid awaited her.

"Quickly... take this" he tossed the Dragon Riders a stolen blanket as they took their freezing friend to the back of the pen.

"Thanks" Astrid smiled "I didn't think Karoc was capable of any mercy."

"She was supposed to stay down there till morning" Fotherington informed them "but what he doesn't know, won't hurt him... or me. Try covering her legs with straw; it will help to insulate them."

"Berk is an ice block for most of the year" Fishlegs noted with a smile "so we know how to deal with the cold."

"Yes... of course; I'll try and get you all some food soon" and with that, Fotherington closed the door to the pen and disappeared.

"H-he's c-cute" Ruffnut shivered "I th-think I'm starting t-to l-like him."

* * *

"How ya doin' Sigrid?" Big Freya asked her friend as she tried to get comfortable in their cell; a fruitless idea at best.

"Oh... I'm fine... but I'm worried about Joric."

"Hey now, I'm sure he's fine" Freya insisted "this Emperor guy is bound to want to show off who he's captured so they won't harm him yet."

"I hope your right" Sigrid sighed.

"I know I am... and we'll get him back for you as soon as we get out of here so you just relax and take care of that little royal Viking growin' inside of you."

"It's funny really" Sigrid noted; she contemplated her belly even though it was too early in her pregnancy for it to be protruding much "I was so scared that my life would change with the baby... no more adventures and such... and that was why I so wanted to go on this trip with you all."

"Are you kidding? Just look at my Little Freya; It was a real adventure raising her during the last few years of the dragon war... and then I got to teach her about dragon riding."

"Which is probably why she spent so much of her fifth year stealing Nadders" Sigrid smiled.

"No... that was Astrid's fault."

"It's nice to have someone else to blame... but my baby is going to be heir to the throne of Bolthorn... so I don't think I'll be able to raise him or her how I would have back on Berk."

"Hey... no; it's your baby so only you and Joric have final word on that" Freya insisted.

"But what if Joric says..."

"Oh what if – what if" Freya Huffed "And what if Joric burries his feet in the ground and calls himself a tree? Stop worrying about things that haven't happened yet."

"And besides that" a voice spoke from the cell opposite "everyone in Bolthorn Castle thinks you are simply wonderful Your Majesty... so I don't think anyone would be upset if you raised your child up to be just like you."

Sigrid leapt to her feet and peered out through the tiny bar covered window in the door. In the pale torch light, she could see than many of her people and a few Vikings too, were intently listening to the 'not very private' conversation, but the face she could see in the opposite cell made her smile uncontrollably and brought a small tear to her eye.

"Toki! I haven't seen you since you helped me and Astrid escape from Prince Nainn. Hey Freya, it's Toki; he..."

"Helped you and Astrid escape from Prince Nainn... I heard."

"Where have you been; what have you been up too?" Sigrid asked.

"I slipped away with most of the crew after your escape... just in case King Rekkur thought it was our fault that you got away."

"It was your fault" Sigrid noted.

"True... well we all laid low for a while, until word got to us that Captain Joric Thorn was the new King and after that, it was back to the navy. I would have liked to have said hello during our journey, but I was on the Noble Pigg for the trip, and then I was taken prisoner on the other Clipper when she went down."

"Did you mean what you said?" Sigrid asked "Do you really think everyone would be happy to have your future ruler raised as a dragon riding Viking?"

"YES!" a chorus of Elydonian voices echoed throughout the dungeon

"Thank you Toki; thank you everyone" she sighed "I won't let you down."

"And we won't let you down" her friend replied.

"Sounds like you've got a few fans" Gobber noted from down the corridor.

* * *

**A little bit of fluff before the action starts up. **

**Thanks for reading :-)  
**


	26. Chapter 26

26 If Ships Could Fly

The sky behind the Dragon Riders was still the blackest black, but in front of them the eastern horizon had just turned to the darkest grey. The pre-dawn light was less than fifteen minutes away and the time Hiccup was waiting for, had finally arrived.

"All set Kara?" Hiccup asked.

"Ready" she replied.

"You ready too Snotlout?"

"Let's just go already" the impatient young man huffed.

"Alright then... hold on tight Victor" Hiccup advised the boy sitting behind him "and here... we... go."

The main force of dragons held their positions as Toothless and Ghost dropped down slowly and silently till they reached the sea. The dragons levelled out and came in behind the ships purposely wide of their marks. Hiccup and Snotlout could see three lamps on each ship held by the lookouts; one on each bow, one on each stern and one each atop the main masts. As the dragons flew in wide, the riders waited until the stern light they followed, diagonally lined up with the bow lamps on the opposite ship and when this odd alignment had been achieved, they both turned in. By the time the watchmen on the ships sterns heard the faint sound of a gliding dragon, it was far too late. Toothless lowered his head and lifted the port stern watchman off his feet, sending him flying into the sea between the ships while Ghost used his claws to similar effect on the starboard vessel.

"That's the signal" Kara noted as the stern lamps went out "let's go."

The main force of dragons began their attack while Hiccup and Snotlout held their diagonal course and crossed by each other only inches apart and within a split second, Toothless had taken care of the watchman on the starboard bow before banking up. Ghost soon had the man on the port bow swimming for his life as both dragons now swept up towards the main masts and the final watchmen thereon. Hiccup had a very strong feeling that his plan had been going far too well at this point, and he was right; the lookouts in both crow's nest had heard the cries from the other men, and the splashes they made when hitting the water, so just before the dragons plucked them from their posts and dropped them unceremoniously into the water, the alarm bells rang and warned of the attack. In less than a minute, Imperial soldiers were pouring out from under the forecastle and onto the main deck.

Vikings and soldiers soon began to battle on the decks of both ships; Starkard led the attack on the Mighty Ivar while the Dragon Riders with Kara swarmed all over the Generals Warship. Many of the dragons carried with them King Jorics men, so the first dragon flypast deposited five Elydonian sailors on the wheel deck of each ship. Even with only two ships under his command, General Karoc's forces still out numbered Hiccups by three to one, but the odds where still heavily stacked in the favour of the Dragon Master.

"Kill the prisoners" the senior officer on the Mighty Ivar ordered, and one of his men hurried off to carry out the gruesome task.

Down below, Fotherington was making his way from the stern of the ship with a smile on his face and a key in his hand that he playfully tossed in the air. He had been waiting for this moment for quite a while and was enjoying it immensely.

"Hey, you there; is that the key to the prisoners cage?"

"Err... yes sir; why?" Fotherington asked the soldier with the knife in his right hand.

"Give it to me; I've been ordered to slit their throats."

"Umm... don't worry... I'll do it."

A look of mistrust came over the soldiers face as Fotherington turned away.

"Wait a minute... what ship were you from?"

"One of the ships that sank of course" Fotherington mused.

"Which ship was it; what was its name?"

As a former New Loren spy, Fotherington knew the names of many ships in his empires navy.

"Err... the Storm Runner" he informed the soldier as he grasped the hilt of a short sword hidden beneath his vest.

"The Storm Runner?" the soldier took a step forward.

"Yes" Fotherington insisted as he drew the sword silently.

"The Storm Runner... that sailed south on a spice run two months ago."

"Ahh... well then."

Fotherington spun around as soon as he sensed the soldier's movement behind him, but it was too late; the soldier leapt forward and buried his knife blade deep into Fotherington's neck. As he fell back and exhaled his final breath, the last thing Fotherington saw was the look of shock on the soldiers face as he contemplated the sword that had been thrust into his body by the man he had just killed.

* * *

Karoc was the only one on board who did not sleep fully clothed, preferring instead a clean silk nightgown. So when the General himself finally arrived on the main deck of his ship, the battle was well and truly in full swing. The Elydonians on the wheel deck of the Mighty Ivar had control of the ship, but those on the New Loren battleship were having much more trouble keeping the soldiers at bay; meaning there was no one at the helm of the great ship, which was now dangerously off course.

Many of the Dragon Riders were fighting hand to hand on the decks, while most of the dragons remained in the air due to the restricted amount of space on the ships, but there were still several Gronckles and a few Nadders butting heads and slashing tails at the defending soldiers. On board the Mighty Ivar, Hiccup made the most of shield, sword and metal leg in his battles while Toothless showed many soldiers exactly what it was like to be on the wrong end of a Night Fury's muscular tail. Victor meanwhile was slipping through the wild crowd as fast as he could manage, making his way towards the dragon sized centre hatch; when he finally reach it, he found it being used as high ground by five of the enemy who were trying to fight off two Vikings. He knew he needed help, and he needed it now.

"TOOTHLESS" Victor called out.

Hiccups dragon turned and quickly assessed the situation before sending a plasma blast at the lip of the hatch which blew off sending three soldiers sprawling onto the deck and two flying over the rail and into the sea.

"THANK YOU" Victor smiled as he swung over the smouldering wood and down into the darkness.

A corridor that ran the entire length of the ship stretched out both in front, and behind him with dragon pens lined up on each side. The starboard pen closest to the hatch was the only one that didn't hold a dragon, but held three prisoners instead.

"Ruprecht" Astrid grinned through the tiny hole in the door.

"Hello Rose" Victor replied.

"About time someone came to let us out" Ruffnut huffed "I thought Fotherington would have opened the door as soon as the attack began."

"Don't worry, I'll have you out soon" Victor reassured them as he got to work on the lock "maybe he's still trying to find the key."

"I'm just glad it's you" Fishlegs noted "when your attack started, I heard one of the officers give an order for us to be executed, but no one got around to it before the fighting got too heavy."

"That's odd" Victor noted "killing prisoners at the first sign of trouble is normal practice, so I would have expected that one of the soldiers would have come straight here before you could escape... but luckily for us..."

"What's wrong" Astrid asked as they were still no closer to getting out; the sound of battle was calling to her.

"It's too dark down here to see what I'm doing with the lock" Victor informed her "I need a torch."

Victor looked down the unlit corridor and smiled as he noticed that a few dark shadows protruded from the wall nearby and he knew they were unlit torches.

"Hang on for a bit" he said as he hurried off and tripped over some kind of lump on the floor.

* * *

Over on the Imperial battleship, General Karoc and his men were struggling to get the upper hand over the Viking rescue party, but he was rapidly losing his slight advantage as the battle raged on. As he stood near the bow of his ship, all he could see in front of him was the occasional soldier being flung over the railing and into the sea. He desperately looked around for anything that would help him in his current situation and was surprised to find a few. The first was that in all the confusion of the morning attack, no one had noticed that the ships had almost reached their destination in New Loran, but now the Imperial Port and shipyards loomed up in front of him in the morning light.

"Ten minutes" he said to himself "fifteen tops and I'll have all the reinforcements I'll need."

The second thing that Karoc noticed as he looked around was the starboard side of the Mighty Ivar that his out of control ship was about to ram.

"BRACE" he ordered his men just before the two ships came together with an unearthly crash.

Not knowing what the order had meant, Vikings and dragons went sprawling over the deck while most of the soldiers stayed upright; Kara was even surprised to see a Gronckle roll by when the bow of the warship lifted as is slammed into the Mighty Ivar.

* * *

"I don't believe this" Victor declared as he fell down a second time.

After tripping and picking himself up again, he managed to grab one of the torches off the wall and had just used his flint to light it, when the ships collided and the floor lurched to port; and down he went once more. The flame of the torch hissed as it came into contact with the slightly moist floorboard, but it also lit up what Victor had fallen over.

"At last" Fishlegs declared when the lock finally dropped to the ground and the door swung open.

"Ah, you found the key" Astrid smiled as she stepped out of the dragon pen, but she soon saw that Victor was not pleased with his good luck.

"What's wrong with him?" Ruffnut asked as the young boy stared at the floor five yards from Astrid's feet and breathed heavily.

The Dragon Riders looked to where Victor was pointing and in the low light of the still burning torch, they saw Fotherington's body lying in a pool of blood, a dagger protruding from the side of his neck. A little way back was another body; an Imperial Soldier with a short sword stuck under his ribcage.

"That guy must have been the one sent to kill you" Victor surmised in a very frail voice.

"And Fothers fought him off" Fishlegs said "he saved us."

Victor's face scrunched up before he exploded "HIS NAME WAS MASTER FOTHERINGTON... not... Fothers."

"I'm sorry" Fishlegs declared sincerely "I meant no disrespect."

"Go and open the dragon pens" Astrid ordered her friends before she knelt down to hold the distraught boy as he sobbed.

"Right" Ruffnut agreed.

She headed toward the stern and began throwing back every bolt she passed while Fishlegs did the same forward.

"I'll get my dragon" Astrid informed Victor "and get you out of here."

"NO" he insisted "I leave only when we're done here."

* * *

"LORD BORGES" one of the Emperors Guards roused the sleeping man as bells rang in the distance "the ships have been sighted; the ships with the dragons on board... and... they're being attacked sir."

"Huh... wha..." Borges stirred "attacked? Quickly man; sound the alarm bells."

"Err... yes sir" the guard agreed; not wanting to show up Borges by drawing his attention to the bells.

On the docks, every sailor prepared ships for departure and in every barrack, soldiers hurried out and made for the dock, ready for battle.

When Karoc had taken down the Dragon Riders the first time, he had outnumbered them ten to one and the only dragons he had to deal with were the three not shut up in their pens; Stormfly and two Gronckles from the Sharktooth. Currently Hiccup and his people had the upper hand, thanks to their abundant number of dragons with more being released at this very moment.

Unfortunately though, the Dragon Master was unaware of the fact that the odds against him were soon to surpass one hundred to one as more than thirty ships loaded to the brim with warriors, cast their lines and set sail towards the two ships approaching New Loran.

* * *

**Dear Stripesicles 222, I am happy to chat with you and answer your questions, but you have blocked Private Messages in your account settings so I am unable to do so. I must admit that I too was worried about what would happen when I first signed up on this site but so far, I have only been contacted by other writers and readers with no malice in mind.**

**It is true, there is the odd crazy one (yes I'm looking at you Sarnakh) but most I consider to be my friends (like Midoriko, FF71, SharKohen, P. Underhill and many others – even Sarnakh) although we will never meet in person, (and I think this is a good thing as I am a middle aged dude and have no wish to be creepy; only to have my writing praised to unrealistic levels) :-D I will try again to answer your questions a few more times if you want to allow PM's.**

**Thanks for reading my stuff, Marty.**


	27. Chapter 27

27 Double or Nothing

General Karoc and the last seventeen of his men had been pushed all the way up to the forecastle of the battleship and were fighting for their lives with their backs to the bowsprit. The Vikings and their allies now had almost complete control and had managed to steer away from the Mighty Ivar which now ran alongside less than twenty feet away. Looking across the water, Karoc could see the gaping hole his ship had made in the enemy vessel five feet above the waterline and could only imagine what the bow of his ship must look like; he also saw dragon after dragon climbing, jumping and flying out of the hatch in the main deck and he began to suspect that all was lost; that was until he turned around and looked towards shore. They were still a long way off, but the sheer number of ships in the approaching fleet filled him with hope. All he had to do was to survive a little longer and recapture a few dragons for his Emperor; the battle wasn't lost yet.

"Hold this ship till the fleet arrives" he ordered his men before disappearing down the forward hatch.

Hiccup looked up with joy as the captive dragons poured out of the hold of the Mighty Ivar and took to the sky; stage one of the rescue was almost over. As he assessed the situation around him, Hiccup noticed the large number of the enemy splashing desperately behind the ships and he knew his conscience would not allow him to just leave them there.

"KARA" he called across the water "TOSS ALL THE BOATS OVER THE STERN."

Looking back, she noticed the reason for the order and waved an acknowledgment; Ack also heard what Hiccup had said, so he grabbed a few sailors and started to do the same on the Mighty Ivar.

"Merciful to the end" Astrid smiled.

Hiccup turned, delighted to see Astrid at last and without a word, grabbed her roughly and just held her tight for a moment.

"I'm so glad you're alright" he declared "how are the others?"

"Well... Ruff and Legs are okay but..."

Hiccups mind raced "y-you mean one of the dragons..."

"No..." she whispered "it's... Fotherington... they were going to kill us... he stopped them."

Hiccup took a long deep breath; he began to see that these spies, whom he had not trusted in the past, were not the men he had assumed them to be.

"Is he hurt badly?"

"He's dead Hiccup."

The Dragon Masters head dropped as he contemplated this turn of events.

"So I owe him a debt that I can never repay."

"We'll see about that" Astrid sighed.

"Listen here" Starkard noted "I know a post battle cuddle is very romantic, but I think you should both have a quick look forward off the port bow."

Hiccup and Astrid took their friends advice and saw the approaching fleet drawing nearer. It was plain to see that the ships they stood on would never be able to stand against such a force, so the time had come to alter their tactics.

"Looks like it's time we departed" Astrid declared.

"Yes... we should head straight to..." Hiccup paused as he realised something important.

"What is it Babe?"

"Those ships will be filled with soldiers, right?" Hiccup began.

"And there's a great reason to leave" Astrid nodded.

"But if we do, they'll just turn around and head back to shore."

"And we'll be flying to the Capital; what's your point?" she pondered.

"You've been in the palace Astrid; you know how big the city is... and how well defended it is. I hope we'll be in and out with the prisoners quickly but if we get bogged down, we don't want those soldiers arriving in the middle of it all to help re-enforce the City Guard."

"True... so what do we do about it Hiccup?"

The Dragon Masters head turned from left to right and back again as he desperately looked for inspiration.

"Okay" he said at last "Astrid; you and Ruffnut get your dragons and go over to the other ship. Tell Kara to get rid of the last of the New Loran soldiers and then get everyone else off and onto dragons, but you two stay with Stormfly and Barf &amp; Belch. Starkard, you do the same here; I want everyone gone five minutes ago... oh, and take care of Victor and Fotherington too."

"I will" he replied before hurrying off.

"Fishlegs, now that the dragons are free, I need you to find Boomer for me and send him back here" Hiccup continued.

"Right" Fishlegs nodded as he climbed onto Meatlug.

"Hang on Babe" Astrid asked with concern "Boomer? You're not planning to... you are, aren't you?"

"It's the best way I can think of to slow them down" he kissed Astrids cheek "Good luck."

"Hey... what about me?" Ruffnut asked as Hiccup ran off towards the wheel deck.

"GOOD LUCK RUFFNUT" he called back.

"I meant where is my kiss?"

"Here" Astrid said as she pecked Ruffnut's cheek.

"It's not the same" Ruffnut sighed as she climbed onto her dragon.

* * *

The Elydonian sailors that held the wheel deck greeted Hiccup with broad smiles as he climbed the steps from the main deck; they were all very pleased with their success in getting their ship back, but they would not feel that way if they only knew what Hiccup had in mind.

"We're done here" he informed them "grab a lift from the Dragon Riders and get off the ship."

"Err... yes sir; if you say so" their leader agreed as they left.

Hiccup took the helm and kept the ship on course toward the naval port and the ships approaching him. All around him, as well as on the enemy battleship, dragons were sweeping in and out and removing Vikings and Elydonians from the nearly deserted ships while in a long line behind him, enemy soldiers clung for their lives to the lifeboats bobbing up and down in the water.

"Here he is Hiccup" Fishlegs called as Boomer the Zippleback touched down nearby "do you need anything else?"

"Yes... tell Starkard and Kara to stay clear of those ships ahead; there are too many of them to take on, and they're too well armed."

"Will do" Fishlegs nodded.

"But tell them to slow the ships down with a little dragon fire; Sails and rudders, understand?"

"Sails and rudders; understood."

"DON'T FORGET... KEEP YOUR DISTANCE."

"RIGHT" Fishlegs agreed as he flew off.

Hiccup contemplated the damaged ship that stretched out in front of him; he had so looked forward to using it and exploring the world.

"Oh well" he sighed "we can always build another one."

* * *

"I always said he was crazy" Ruffnut snorted as she landed her dragon on the enemy ship.

"Ah yes" Astrid agreed "but just like you, I like crazy."

"No... you LOVE crazy."

"Ohhh yes" Astrid agreed again as she waved to Hiccup from the helm of the Generals ship, indicating her readiness.

The Imperial Coach had been moved to the dockside so the Emperor could observe the arrival of his new fire breathing pets. A hundred or more dock workers stood by ready to cheer when so ordered, and fifty elite guards kept them all a safe distance from the Emperor.

"It won't be long now" Emperor Scias declared from the roof of his coach as the dragon ships drew nearer and his powerful fleet surrounded them.

"No Your Highness" Borges agreed.

"Those Dragon Riders thought they could save their friends, but look; they can't get anywhere near my ships and I can see three... no... four dragons still on the decks. I WILL HAVE DRAGONS TODAY!" he shivered with excitement.

"Err... shouldn't they be lowering their sails and slowing down by now?" Borges asked confused.

"Karoc is plainly in a hurry to get the captives ashore so he can concentrate on taking down those accursed Vikings and securing me more dragons."

"No doubt Highness" Borges agreed while looking around for the best escape route.

The flying Dragon Riders had done a reasonable job slowing down the attacking ships before they could get close enough to board the Mighty Ivar and the Battleship; the sea near the coast was heavy with the smoke from burning sails and smouldering sterns. Hiccup was right not to order a full on attack as arrows, bolts and catapulted rocks flew up from the deck of every ship; the dragons would have been slaughtered had they gotten too close. Scias was still certain that his vastly superior numbers would win the day; his fleet may be having some trouble, but they were surrounding the captured ships and would soon swarm all over them.

Down under the forecastle of his battleship, General Karoc peered out of the hole in the bow created when the two vessels collided. He was the last one of his countrymen alive on either ship, now that the enemy had finished fighting and throwing overboard all survivors into the sea.

"Any minute now" he grinned as the port drew nearer.

As soon as the ships struck the dock, the soldiers on shore would begin to board the ship and Karoc planned to climb out of the hatch and lead them to victory in front of the Emperor, but something was wrong; the air began to feel heavy and Karoc was finding it difficult to breathe. He had no choice; he had to get out now before he suffocated.

Not far away on the dock, Emperor Scias was beginning to wonder if everything was still going as well as he hoped.

"LOOK AT THOSE" he cried out excitedly as both Zippleback dragons flew off the sterns of the ships "they've got two heads each... but where are they going?"

"Time to go Bud" Hiccup declared as he lashed off the helm.

Over on the other vessel, Astrid was busily engaged in the same task before she leapt onto Stormfly.

"MY DRAGONS" the Emperor raged "THEY'RE TAKING MY DRAGONS!"

But Scias's advisor had already scampered down the steps by the coach driver's bench and was looking for cover as the ships drew closer and closer. General Karoc exited the forward hatch coughing and spluttering just in time to see a Deadly Nadder whisk her rider away from the doomed ship while the heavy air swirled around his feet.

"Now?" Astrid asked.

"Now" Hiccup nodded.

"What is that green smoke coming out of the ships?" Scias inquired of no one in particular, just as shots of magnesium and plasma fell down from the dragons flying above.

Karoc watched the approaching fire balls intently, so he did not see the rapidly approaching dock behind him. The General was thrown heavily onto his back as the ships bows rose up when they struck land; splintering wood, ropes and sails twisted through the air while soldiers and dock workers backed up in awe. King Joric took advantage of the distraction and threw himself under the Imperial Coach before the guards could react.

"I'LL KILL EVERYONE OF THOSE FILTHY..." were General Karoc's last words as the fireballs struck each ship, igniting the Zippleback gas.

Two massive plumes of fire expanded across the dock and the sea, as the Imperial Battleship and the Mighty Ivar were instantly turned into flying fiery debris. Four of the still pursuing ships were engulfed while everyone on shore fled for their lives before the destruction of the growing blast.

"That's the second biggest explosion I've ever seen" Ruffnut declared.

"Really?" Hiccup was surprised "It's the biggest one I've ever seen."

"Hiccup my sweet, you and Toothless were inside the biggest explosion we'd ever seen" Astrid informed him.

"Tuffnut's not going to be happy when he hears that he missed this" Hiccup noted.

"Maybe we shouldn't tell him" Astrid offered.

"Oh I'm telling him alright" Ruffnut grinned an evil grin.

Down on the dock, people continued to run for their lives. The Emperor's coach had been blown backwards over twenty yards and now lay smouldering on its side. Joric checked his wounds and was pleased to find they were mostly superficial thanks to the protection afforded to him by the coach, but some of his guards were not so fortunate; most were fleeing with horrid injuries but four lay dead several feet away from where they had stood. Although he did feel slightly guilty about his actions, the King of Elydonia began to search the dead men; he quickly found a knife that he put under his belt, and a gold hilted sword of the Imperial Guard. The second body yielded a key that unlocked his chains so, now free but still surrounded by fire and destruction, Joric made for a warehouse one hundred and fifty yards away; the southern end of its roof was on fire so he hoped to find a little solitude there to work out his next move.

* * *

"Well that takes care of that" Mulch nodded adamantly as the Dragon Riders began to gather together high over the burning dock "So what do we do now Hiccup?"

"We rescue everyone else" he staunchly declared "Are all the dragons from the ship okay?"

"ALL PRESENT AND IN GREAT CONDITION" shouted a very happy Snotlout from the back of Hookfang.

"Snotlout; you've got your dragon back" Hiccup smiled "but where's Ghost?"

The cry of a Changewing behind him answered Hiccups question.

"How about our people; did we lose anyone?"

The Vikings spent a moment looking around before they realised that there was no one missing.

"They didn't stand a chance against us with our dragons" Ack declared to a rousing cheer from the others.

"And Joric's sailors?" Hiccup asked.

"We're all here sir" one called back "you Vikings bore the brunt of the fighting; we just helped a bit."

"Ya can't keep a Viking at the back when there's a battle to be fought" Kara stated to another cheer.

"Fotherington was our only casualty then" Hiccup sighed at the thought.

"So do we fly on to the city?" Snotlout asked.

"Not quite" Hiccup corrected "Astrid will lead you all to an abandoned farm we once used and we'll regroup there; where's Victor?"

"HERE!" he cried out from the behind Starkard.

"I want you to come with me to check out the capital."

"Be careful Babe" Astrid implored as Victor swapped dragons.

"Don't worry... I've got him."

"That's not what I meant" she mumbled as they flew off.

* * *

**There is something I just don't understand; according to the Traffic Stats, 39 people read chaper 25, while 47 people read chapter 26. Did 8 people just skip a chapter? Weird huh?**

**Down at the other end of the story I am just finishing off chapter 37 so it looks like this one should come in at under 40... but we will see as I have made predictions like that before and been very wrong. I was so looking forward to starting my own novel after this, but now I've got two more HTTYD story ideas so who knows.**


	28. Chapter 28

28 A Coup of Convenience

The shutter of a small window, barely eighteen inches square, opened in the loft of the warehouse and Joric peered out onto the scene of chaos below. Soldiers and dock workers continued to run away from the carnage as fast as they could manage, but it was only a matter of time before they regrouped and returned to fight the fires... and then they would find him. Joric fumed in frustration as he removed his jacket and discarded it so no one would see the emblem of the Royal House of Elydonia emblazoned on it. If only there was a boat nearby that was small enough for one man to sail, but there was none that he could see, and fleeing deeper into New Loran seemed like a foolhardy errand.

"Of all the hopeless situations..." he began to say to himself when his luck suddenly changed dramatically.

Down among the crowd of fleeing people, Joric saw a man who was also headed for the warehouse; his clothes were badly burned his hair was half singed off leaving his head badly scared. Joric closed the shutter and hurried down to hide behind the huge sliding wooden door in wait for the man as he approached. He held his breath when a shadow appeared in the doorway, then he sprung into action.

"AARGH OOFF!" the man cried in pain as Joric grabbed the front of his robes and spun him around; slamming him against the back of the door.

"Hello Scias; it's good to see you again."

"J-J-J- Joric... how did you..."

"Never mind all that for now; you my friend... are my way out of here" the King grinned.

"I seriously doubt that" Borges declared as he entered the warehouse; dagger in hand.

"BACK OFF... or Scias dies" Joric pulled the Emperor away from the door while holding the gold hilted sword to his neck.

"Oh... I don't think so" Borges stepped forward.

"W-WHAT ARE YOU DOING BORGES" the Emperor cried "HE'S GOING TO KILL ME!"

"No he won't Majesty; Joric knows that if he harms you in any way, I would kill him on the spot; and when I throw my dagger, I'm very... accurate."

"Then what do you suggest I do Borges?" Joric asked sarcastically as he continued to back away.

"Release the Emperor and run" came the simple reply.

"And you expect me to believe that you will just let me go?"

"Oh no Joric... but consider this; if the Emperor dies, then you die. But if you release him and run... well... who knows how far you may get in all this confusion; you may even get away completely."

"But if I don't, you'll still kill me."

"True, but it will be quick and maybe... just maybe... you might make it."

"ALRIGHT" Joric snorted "MOVE AWAY FROM THE DOOR."

Joric dragged the Emperor around in a large arc back to the doorway while Borges just turned on the spot and kept facing them. When he finally reached the opening, Joric removed the blade from Scias's neck and pushed the Emperor towards Borges before running. The Emperor assumed he was safe at last as he fell towards his adviser, until he saw Borges smiling face as he raised his dagger.

"Don't worry Majesty; I've got you" Borges voice dripped with malice as the blade was twisted into the Emperor's gut "and I will make sure the Elydonians reap the reward of what they have done to you."

Scias fell to the ground twitching in his death throws, until he at last expired.

"Maybe I'll send them some flowers" the new Emperor thought "in appreciation for their service."

* * *

The farm was the perfect place to take the dragons; an expansive area not too far from the capital, but still a long way off the main road so it was doubtful they would be seen. Astrid directed everyone to land down on the northern side of the old barn but as she flew in, she noticed something was slightly out of the ordinary. Guiding Stormfly closer to the remains of the house, she dropped to the ground and rolled before her dragon had even landed. Astrid crouched and tensed herself as she reached back for her axe, but then she just stopped, stood to her full height and smiled.

"You know how much that annoys me, don't you?" a voice drifted out from the rubble that was once a farmhouse.

"Sorry to upset you Darius" she smirked.

"Oh stop patronising me" he huffed as he climbed out of his hiding place "I am happy to see you though."

"You won't be when you hear what I've got to tell you" she sighed "Darius... I'm sorry but... Fotherington has been killed."

"What?" his voice was nothing more than a whisper and his legs gave way from under him "no... ... ... how?"

"He was posing as an imperial sailor on the ship my friends and I were captive on" she informed him as some of the others gathered around "When the Dragon Riders came to rescue us, the order was given to put us all to death..."

"Yes... the Imperials like to do that" Darius noted "it stops you from joining the fight... and spoils the rescue for the attackers."

"He was killed protecting us from the man sent to carry out the execution" Astrid sat with Darius as she continued "and he succeeded too; he saved my life and the lives of my friends."

"A hero's death" Darius noted; a tear running down his face "such a rare occurrence... for a spy."

"Astrid... is this the man you and Hiccup told us stories about last winter?" Kara asked.

"Yes; this is Darius Gershwin."

"And... and he was on the ship with you too?"

"He was on the Pigg" she corrected "he raised the alarm on that ship when the Imperial fleet first attacked.

"VICTOR" Darius suddenly realised "WHERE'S VICTOR?"

"Victor's fine sir" Starkard informed him "I got him off the ship myself before it blew up; he's with Hiccup now."

"With Hiccup? Good; he's safe then" Darius was relieved "Wait a minute... the ship blew up?"

"We'll tell you about it later" Astrid smiled as she stood up "We've got to rescue some very important people from the dungeons of the Imperial Palace."

"Also... I have the body of your friend... he's on my dragon" Starkard added.

"You brought him back?" Darius was touched "Thank you... thank you for not leaving him behind."

Astrid started back to address the Dragon Riders but as she looked out into the small crowd, she saw a familiar face that should not have been there and next to him, was a young lady on a dragon."

"AGNAR!" Astrid yelled "You and Freya were supposed to stay on that island until we got back; Hiccup's orders were clear."

"Yes... I know" Agnar tried to explain "but she was bored, I was bored... hell, even the dragons were bored so we... decided to watch the battle."

"We did stay well out of the way" Freya noted.

"You keep quite" Astrid pointed at the young girl still sitting on her Nadder "you're gonna be in BIG trouble when Hiccup gets back. Oh... don't look at me like that."

"I'm sorry Astrid" Freya lower lip protruded as it wobbled "I didn't mean to make you angry."

"Ohhh" Astrid whimpered and held out her arms "come here then."

Freya dropped down from Swiftwings back and threw herself into Astrid arms.

"Awwwww" the Vikings all sighed as the two hugged.

Hiccup and Victor chose that very moment to return from their short recon of the city; he slid off his saddle, walked over to Astrid and slipped his arm around her waist.

"Hello Freya" he smiled "did you see much of the battle?"

"HELLO FREYA?" Astrid pushed him away "IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT TO SAY?"

"I... wha... huh?" was all he could think of as the love of his life stormed off.

"What just happened?" he asked confused.

"I think Astrid assumed that you would be much angrier at me and Freya than you turned out to be" Agnar informed him "she certainly was."

"Angry?"

"Yup."

"Why?"

"Dunno."

"Well... since you're here Agnar, see to any wounds and then check the dragons too."

"I'm on it" Agnar nodded then left.

"Umm... Starkard" Hiccup tried not to look too distracted "get Kara and Ack; Victor can fill you in on what we found. I'm just going to... umm... have a little chat with Astrid... for a minute... I hope... oh... hi Darius."

Hiccup found her sitting on an old bench on the far side of the burned out farmhouse; he approached her slowly, but made a little noise so as not to catch her off guard.

"Umm..." he began.

"I'm sorry Hiccup" she said softly "you just... surprised me that's all; I didn't think you'd be so... cool about them disobeying your orders."

"I just wanted to make sure Freya was safe during the battle; I knew that if I told her to just watch, she'd be tempted to get involved so I figured..."

"Tell her to stay behind... and then she'd only disobey you to the point you wanted" Astrid realised "Clever."

"I thought so" Hiccup said smugly "the thing I don't understand is..."

"Why I got so upset?"

"Exactly; what's wrong?"

"It's been in the back of my mind ever since we got captured... and I guess it's just been festering inside my soul while I was sitting in that dragon pen day after day with Ruff and Legs."

"What has?" he sat down and took her hand.

"We lost Fjori, Grison and Halfig in the initial attack... not to mention some of Jorics men... and I don't even know who... or how many of them died."

"Well that's not your fault" Hiccup pointed out.

"I know" she squeezed his hand "but what if Little Freya..."

"Well it would have been tragic, but it still would not have been your fault..."

"But it would have been" she interrupted "It was me who put the idea into Big Freya's head; 'Why not take your daughter' I said. 'It'll be fun and a good learning experience' I said. And I even helped her talk your father into letting her go... so if she'd been hurt... or killed..."

"It would have been tragic... but not your..."

"YES IT WOULD HAVE!" she punched his arm "It would have been so my fault."

"Astrid... listen" Hiccup said sternly as he rubbed his arm "this was the perfect trip to take Little Freya on her first long distance flight; surrounded by her tribe, going to a country full of friends, it's not your fault things went wrong. My Dad is probably asking himself what he could have done better, Joric will be wishing he sailed more to the north, Sigrid will be thinking it was a mistake to not let Dad just sail off home instead of taking her little holiday at sea... no one is going to blame you."

"I blame myself though" she sighed.

"Astrid... I know you like to rib Snotlout about how you will be second in line to be chief when we're married and he will slip down to fourth..."

"OH NO" she stood up "Yes it's true I like messing with Snotlout, but don't make me think about being chief... especially not now."

"Calm down Astrid... don't you remember how you helped me when I felt this way after Ivar's death? Well it's just like you've told me many times; you're not alone... and you never will be. That's why I wasn't too angry with Agnar and Freya. Yes I was still a little miffed that they disobeyed... but you helped me long ago to see that I can trust them... and I trust you too."

"As Snotlout is fond of saying..." Astrid said as she picked Hiccup up by the collar and kissed him "I hate it when you're right."

* * *

The robes of the Imperial Ruler were somewhat singed and tattered, but it was not their condition that surprised the soldiers; it was who wore them.

"DID ANY OF YOU SEE THE MAN WHO JUST CAME RUNNING OUT OF HERE?" Borges called out.

Several of the men just looked at each other in confusion, but a few acknowledged having seen him.

"That was the prisoner; King Joric the Fifth of Bolthorn... and he has just murdered our beloved Emperor."

The entire group cried out in indignation; they shouted for revenge and they shouted for Jorics blood.

"WAIT!" Borges cried and all fell silent till the only sound, was the roar of the burning ships.

"Before he died in my arms, His Imperial Highness told me what I should do. He said to let that coward go; let him think he has gotten away with his crime. Then he named me as his successor and said 'Build up the Empire and make it strong... then... make all of Elydonia pay for the crimes of their King'... and I intend to bring Emperor Scias's last words to pass."

The new Emperor stood among the destruction and revelled in the accolades of his people as they chanted his name. His short speech had worked perfectly and so, with a little polish, he would give it again back at the capital the next day.

Scias and Karoc were dead and the entire empire was now his; life was good.

* * *

**I usually right between one hundred and three hundred words per day on average, but something happened on Sunday May 17****th**** 2015; I finished off the last five hundred words of chapter 27 and wrote this entire chapter (with rewrites) in one day.**

**Man... my butt is sore.**


	29. Chapter 29

29 To Lose One Ally  
(may be regarded as a misfortune)

"It worked for us before and it will work this time too" Hiccup stated "so unless anyone has a brilliant alternative..."

The Vikings and sailor were all silent.

"Seriously; I would love to hear any ideas" he encouraged.

"Umm... it's not a new idea" Mulch offered "more of a warning... but are you sure you want to go in with so few people?"

"Definitely; if we all fly in together in one massive attack, then every soldier will be concentrating on stopping us" Hiccup pointed out "and the prisoners will all be executed before we break through."

"But if we split up" Astrid added "and take in a small strike force in while you commence a false attack, many of the soldiers will be distracted by the dragons outside the city walls; then we stand a much better chance of success."

"Exactly" Hiccup nodded "So the general order is the same as it was with the ships; stay out of enemy firing range and keep hitting them with hassling cover fire... and we don't want the enemy looking up and seeing the strike force, so keep low just like we did in Bolthorn."

A few of the Elydonian sailors were with the Dragon Riders on that day when they attacked their own capital and were able to reassure their shipmates of the validity of Hiccup's plan.

"So we will soon have rescued everyone" one of them declared "then you will have your Chief back, and we will have our King and Queen."

The Vikings cheered in agreement with the sentiment, but the sailor's optimistic comment brought something disturbing to Darius's mind.

"WAIT!" he quieted the noise of the cheering "Isn't your King here with you?"

"No; he was taken on the clipper with the main body of prisoners" the sailor noted.

"Oh... I am so sorry everyone" Darius apologised "I was so distracted when I heard about my apprentice... my son..."

"What is it Darius" Hiccup's heart skipped a beat "Is Joric alright?"

"I don't know... I mean... I hope so but... his presence was discovered on the ship, and as soon as we made port he was removed and kept back there to be presented to the Emperor."

"In the palace?" Astrid asked.

"No... on the dock; Scias left the palace as soon as word got to him of the impending arrival of a ship full of dragons."

"Oh no" Hiccup realised "We just blew up a pretty big chunk of that dock."

"We have to go and look for him" the Elydonians insisted.

"Yeah; wouldn't it be better if we attacked the city at night anyway?" Ack asked.

"No it wouldn't" Fishlegs pointed out "nobody in the city is expecting us at the moment, but if one messenger gets through and informs the palace of what has happened at the port, you can bet they'll go onto high alert and we'll have no hope of catching them by surprise."

"That's true" Hiccup sprung into action "Starkard; take a patrol and look for any one headed to the city on the port road... and stop them at all cost."

"Right" the Viking nodded and started choosing the riders he wanted to take.

"What about the King?" some of the sailors were getting impatient.

"Good point" Hiccup agreed "Any ideas?"

"I've got a great one" Snotlout grinned "Send Ghost; he'll understand what we want and with his camouflage, he'll be able to look around the dock and sniff Joric out in no time."

"Snotlout... that's brilliant" Astrid smiled.

"Of course it is; I just wish you wouldn't act so surprised about it" Snotlout huffed as he sauntered over to the Changewing.

"Hey Ghost" Snotlout petted the dragon as he closed his eyes and pictured Joric and the dock in his mind "We need you to fly back to the dock where the ships blew up; find King Joric and bring him back to us."

"Will Ghost know who Joric is?" Hiccup asked Astrid.

"Oh yes" she nodded "He was fascinated with Ghost; a dragon that could make himself almost invisible. They became good friends back in Staggshund."

"Something's wrong" Snotlout informed them "he doesn't seem to understand."

"Let me have a try" Fishlegs stepped forward.

"Be my guest... but I'm tellin' ya, something is definitely wrong" Snotlout declared.

Fishlegs had no more luck than Snotlout did in trying to get the poor confused dragon to understand what they wanted him to do. It may have helped if they had been aware that Dylan the psychic spider, who was the one really responsible for Ghosts amazing ability to understand, was no longer present on the Changewings head; he was at this very moment sitting in a web, singing Gobbers Troll song in an inaudible voice. He was only a few feet away from Tuffnut and his Elydonian friends as they waited for rescue on top of one of the palace towers.

"I suppose this means you're just going to leave our King to his fate while you go and rescue your own people" one of the sailors sneered before his shipmate's floored him.

"Sorry Lord Hiccup" one of Joric's officers apologised "sorry everyone; he's new."

"I'm glad you decked him" Kara sniffed "it save me the trouble."

"You know what you've got to do" Astrid squeezed Hiccups hand.

"I was just trying to avoid it if possible" he sighed and kissed her cheek "stay safe."

"Wait a minute" the argumentative sailor picked himself up as Astrid climbed up into her saddle "you're only sending one... one girl?"

Nobody hit him this time, but his face soon turned red when everyone began laughing at him.

"WHAT?" he protested.

"It's debatable just who is the better tracker; Astrid or Stormfly" Ack slapped the sailors back just a little too hard "and Hiccup is sending both."

"And I'm going too" Victor piped up.

"NO!" Darius cried out "I've already lost one of my boys today and..."

"Master please" Victor begged "I don't want to live my life in fear because of Master Fotherington's death... please sir... I want to help; you know that I can too."

Darius Gershwin sighed wishing he had not protested so loudly "As Hiccup said... stay safe m'boy."

"Hurry up Victor or I'll leave you behind" Astrid called out.

"Well... I may as well join the fun" Darius announced as he watched Stormfly and her charges disappear in the distance "I've got an idea as to how I can help too."

* * *

Gossip and rumours about the captured dragons had been making their way around the capital ever since the first messengers had arrived from the Clipper ships a few days prior. And when the prisoners had been marched through the streets, the citizens of New Loran had gone dragon crazy. Many wanted to see one of these mythical creatures and were waiting impatiently for them to arrive, while a few believed that this was the beginning of the end and it was only a matter of time before they were all eaten alive.

Up on the city walls, soldiers patrolled while lookouts looked out for any sign of a procession or even just another messenger with news from Emperor Scias, but the only traffic in or out of the city was from the farmlands around the capital; that was until a man of some years, wandered up to one of the guard posts outside the main portcullis.

"We're gonna need some help lad" he informed officer in charge.

"What are you talking about old man?" the officer sneered.

"With the Emperor's dragons; and who are you calling old?"

"Th-they're here?" the officer stuttered.

"Well they're on their way, but several have escaped" he informed the guards "Look... there's one over by the forest road."

The officer's eyes narrowed as he peered into the distance at a large animal that appeared to be grazing.

"You mean that cow over there?"

"That's no cow sir" the 'Not as old as he looks' man declared.

"Don't be silly; of course it's a..." the officer stopped arguing when the 'cow' rose up into the air and moved about twenty yards to the east before settling back down to the ground again.

"I think I heard someone say that it's called a... Granckle? no, a Gronckle; that was it... a Gronckle!"

"I don't believe it" the officer gapped in wonder.

"So you need to grab about fifty men and some heavy nets..."

"You expect me to send men out to catch that... that..."

"Gronckle" the old man nodded.

"WHATEVER; you think I'm going out with fifty men just because you tell me to?"

"I could always send word to the Emperor that you let some of his dragons get away."

"Sergeant; get word to the Seventeenth Imperial Platoon to mobilise at once" the officer ordered.

"Yes sir" the sergeant saluted.

"And tell them to bring nets."

"Yes sir."

Darius smiled to himself because nothing had changed in his old hometown; everyone was still very nervous about upsetting the Emperor.

* * *

Astrid brought Stormfly in to land just outside the northern side of the dock complex in some thick trees and observed the remains of the main Naval Dock and the New Loran Imperial Shipyard. The wild panic that had swept the area after the two ships had exploded ceased long ago, and a concerted effort to clean up the docks had begun.

"You stay here with Stormfly while I go see what I can find" Astrid ordered Victor but he grabbed her arm before she got away.

"I didn't come here to hide... and besides, we should work to our strengths" Victor protested "You're the tracker, so you should circle the area and look for any sign that King Joric has escaped this mess into the forest. I on the other hand am a trained spy, so I should go out there and find out what we need to know."

"Darius will murder me if anything happens to you" Astrid sighed.

"Nothing's gonna happen; I may have been in Elydonia since last summer, but this is still my home country" to Astrids surprise, Victor took her hand and did a bad imitation of a girls voice "you know what you've got to do."

"Don't use my words against me" she snatched her hand away "You're as bad as Hiccup... and I don't sound like that."

"I'll meet you on the southern side in an hour or so" he grinned and sauntered off before Astrid could protest anymore.

The first thing Victor noticed was that anyone not badly injured was busily doing something or other to help clean up. So he quickly picked up some smouldering wood so he would look busy, and just as quickly burnt his left thumb.

"So much for my highly trained powers of observation" he mumbled to himself as he licked his tiny wound and looked for something without so much heat in it to carry.

As he wandered and observed throughout the destruction, an opportunity arose in the form of several men doing temporary repairs to the Imperial Coach. It was now upright again and a frustrated man was trying to refit one of the heavy wheels with one hand while feeling around on the ground for the hub pin with the other.

"Let me help you with that sir" Victor offered as he dropped the plank he carried and rushed over.

"Thank you lad" the craftsman smiled as the tapered pin was placed in his hand "Can you see a wooden mallet behind me somewhere?"

"Here it is sir" he handed it over as the man inserted the pin into the hub.

"Thanks again."

Victor slid under the coach and pulled back on the upper wheel spokes to help hold it firmly in place while the craftsman hammered the pin home.

"Happy to do what I can to help Emperor Scias" Victor smiled before climbing out again.

"Oh... haven't you heard boy? Emperor Scias is dead" the man declared.

"What? No... it can't be" Victor was genuinely surprised "was he too close to the dock when the ships struck?"

"No, it happened afterwards" the craftsman wiped his hands on a rag as he spoke "That rat Joric of Bolthorn escaped and murdered Scias."

"Oh... have they caught him yet?"

"Not yet... the new Emperor told us what happened; it was just over there... in that warehouse" the man pointed.

"New Emperor... already?" Victor was even more surprised now "Who is it?"

"Borges of course; he told us Scias himself appointed him before he died."

"I'll bet he did" Victor mumbled.

"What was that?" the man asked.

"Err... I said Joric will pay for what he's done" Victor spoke clearer.

"Oh all of Elydonia will" the man smiled "it was Emperor Scias's last order... apparently."

"Well... I better go and find my sister" Victor waved and ran off.

He knew he should be searching more intently for the King, but the naval port and shipyards were so big and Astrid needed to know what had happened; he just hoped he could find her quickly.

* * *

**I know most of you are enjoying summer sunshine at this time of year, but down here in Adelaide it is a cold and depressing 10-15 C (about 55 F) and this means less work for mini-bus drivers (as not as many people want to go anywhere) and no time in the garden for Marty. The up side of this is... more writing (and a sore butt – I have to get myself a new chair).**


	30. Chapter 30

30 A Nice Little Dungeon In The Country

"Are you sure about these changes in the plan Hiccup?"

"It's still the same plan Helga... mostly... and besides, what Darius suggested made perfect sense."

"But you always said that you didn't trust him."

"I had my doubts, that's true" Hiccup petted his purring dragon.

"So what changed your..."

But the conversation stopped abruptly when Fishlegs burst though the bushes, puffing and panting.

"It worked Hiccup" he announced "there's a whole bunch of guys coming this way."

"Good work Fishlegs" Hiccup nodded "Keep leading Meatlug down the road in front of them... and let them get a little closer; we want them to think they're doing okay."

"Oh...(huff) alright" Fishlegs ran off once more keeping out of sight, just off the road while his dragon hovered nearby.

"Well... no turning back now" Helga sighed.

Hiccup signalled Starkard on the far side of the road, to stay down as the soldiers jogged past. When the last one moved well out of sight from the city, he gave Toothless the nod to act. The black dragon lifted his head and roared out, causing the troops to stop in their tracks. They didn't have much time to be confused before dragons began bursting out of the trees, flying by so low and so fast that none of the soldiers had any time to react. They came from the forest and just flew straight through to the other side, like sub-sonic chickens in a bad joke. On every pass, each dragon took care of several of the enemy by grabbing one or two in their huge claws and knocking the others over with wings and tails; panic gripped the soldiers and they froze to the spot as their numbers rapidly dwindled.

A quarter of a mile away and over by the old barn, Elydonians and Vikings stood in a semi circle around the only intact stone wall, and processed their prisoners as they arrived. The act of processing a New Loran prisoner worked thusly: A dragon would fly by and drop the soldier it held from a height of about twelve to fifteen feet off the ground before flying back to grab another one from the road. While the soldier was busy spitting dirt out of his mouth, he would be disarmed and lightly tapped on the head with the hilt of a sword or the handle of a battleaxe before being given a very specific order.

"GO SIT DOWN BY THE WALL... AND DON'T MOVE OR I'LL CUT YOUR HEAD OFF."

"The Elydonians were very impressed at the results these words achieved and so, to the Vikings delight, they began copying them word for word." It was not long before the road was cleared of soldiers, so Hiccup and the riders with him picked up the nets and flew back to the farm.

"That worked well" Mulch noted to Hiccup as he arrived "let's hope the rest of the rescue goes as smoothly."

"Yup" Starkard agreed "I just did a head count and we've got fifty seven soldiers here."

A cheer sounded out at their success, but Hiccup had a feeling that moral would soon fall when Helga asked him a question.

"How many do you think are left in the city and the palace?" she smiled.

"Oh... about two or three um... thousand" Hiccup admitted.

Everyone in ear shot fell completely silent at the revelation; if only Hiccup could have reached inside a rip in time and space and pulled out a smartphone, he would have loved to have taken a picture of their faces at that moment.

"We haven't got a hope" Ack declared.

"Now wait a minute" Hiccup objected "Darius just succeeded in getting a large number of their best troops to come out here alone and we took them easily."

"But there's thousands more in there" Kara objected.

"Yes that's true, but Darius told me all about them before he left" Hiccup informed his worried people.

"More than half of the men we'll come up against are the City Watch and they are basically police, who are more used to dealing with pickpockets and petty thieves; they'll probably run screaming from a dragon. The men on the walls are used to doing nothing more than patrolling and reporting; they train for war but no army has attacked this place in four generations so we'll just keep them busy on the perimeter and they should be no trouble.

"The most dangerous and highly trained soldiers are the Emperors Personal Guard and they are all down at the naval port guarding the Emperor, so we won't have to worry about them; some would have been killed and many injured when the ships blew up anyway. The rest of the Palace Guard are mainly for ceremonial purpose and made up of older officers who can't keep up with the younger men in the platoons. As for the platoons themselves, we have already taken out one completely leaving three more; one hundred and fifty men in total... and more than half won't be on duty anyway."

"But the Emperor must have more soldiers than that to run an empire" Starkard noted.

"He does" Hiccup nodded "and they are spread out over the entire country, along its borders and patrolling its waters... in other words... not here; so if we can keep our heads and the rest of the plan goes just as smoothly, then we should be in and out before the day is through."

"And considering that our only other choice is to leave our friends behind and run like cowards, I say it's time to get on with it" Mulch declared to a general murmur of agreement.

"Right then" Hiccup nodded "Let's get us some new clothes."

* * *

"Astrid... over here" Victors voice was barely above a whisper as Astrid and her dragon moved quietly through the trees outside the naval base.

"Any sign of King Joric?" she asked as she approached him.

"I assume that means you didn't find anything either" Victor sighed.

"On the contrary" Astrid noted "Hundreds of people must have fled through the forest after the explosion, so if Joric was one of them, we've got no hope of finding his trail without something to give Stormfly so she can get his scent."

"Well I may not know where he is, but I did learn where he was" Victor informed her "Give me ten more minutes and I'll see if I can find you something."

* * *

The Dragon Riders found it quite funny to leave the poor soldiers tied up while dressed only in their underwear, but Vikings always did have a course sense of humour.

"Are you sure you'll be okay with just the four of you heading into the city?" Kara asked.

"And sixteen Elydonians" Hiccup noted.

"But we've got more than thirty leftover uniforms" Ack argued "so why don't you take more of us?"

"Two reasons" Hiccup answered "Firstly, I need as many riders as possible on dragons during the next stage of the plan, and secondly... well... no offence but an Elydonian in an Imperial Soldiers uniform looks like an Imperial Soldier, but an adult Viking in an Imperial Soldiers uniform looks like a Viking going to a fancy dress party; that's why I'm only taking Ruffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout."

"Fair enough" Kara agreed.

* * *

The officer in charge of the gate felt a shiver move up his body as his hair stood on end. It was one thing to have an old man from the docks come and talk of platoons, nets and flying cows, but it was something else altogether to see twenty soldiers walking back towards the city with five dragons in their charge. Citizens ran from the gate, some inside and some away from the city, while guards left their posts and just stood in awe with their captain. All along the city walls, patrolmen stopped patrolling and just stood opened mouthed as the procession slowly drew nearer.

In the front was the flying cow and a second dragon just like it, but now they were much closer, the officer could see that they looked less like cows and more like moving geological formations. Behind them was what could only be described as a giant black salamander with huge folded wings and a tail that was red on one side, while the fourth dragon was even bigger. It was deep red with deeper markings; the horns on its head made it look like something from a child worst nightmare (if they only knew the appropriate name of the breed). The fifth and final dragon brought the most gasps of awe as it passed by; it had two heads and was so tall, that it had to duck them both down to fit under the massive portcullis.

"This is working better than I expected" Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup.

This part of their rescue plan was indeed going well; the citizens and City Watch members just backed away, some even ran, as the dragons approached and the soldiers at the gate were so pre-occupied that they did not notice that some of the soldiers walking alongside the dragons, were far too short to be in the New Loran Imperial Army (A few did notice but assumed that they must only look short when standing next to a dragon); and no one noticed either that one of the short soldiers had a shiny metal leg.

"Keep your eyes forward and don't look at anyone" Hiccup told Ruffnut who was staring at the beautiful city with wonder.

"KEEP BACK EVERYONE" one of the Elydonian sailors, resplendent in his stolen Imperial uniform, told those in the crowd who dared to come closer to the dragons "THEY MAY LOOK CALM NOW, BUT WE'VE ALREADY HAD FIFTEEN MEN LOSE THEIR LIVES TO THESE BEASTS."

His words certainly had the desired effect as even more people ceased gawking and hurried away; Hookfang certainly helped when he gave an ear splitting roar that echoed off the walls of the buildings and through the streets of the capital.

"Good boy" Snotlout grinned from under his shiny Imperial Battle Helmet.

The Guards at the palace entrance were not going to be as easy to handle as the men at the City Gate, but Hiccup had a few ideas in mind. He noted what he had come to know as the 'normal' series of reactions that the guards gave the escorted dragons as they approached. At first he could see a combination of wonder and fear when the dragons first came into view, but the fear began to grow when the guards realised that these horrific creatures were not simply passing by, but were actually being led straight towards the palace. The temptation to run and/or wet their pants was soon replaced by a kind of false bravado, upon accepting the fact that these creatures were apparently under the control of their own countrymen. The palace guards did not want to appear to be cowards, so they continued to stand to attention at their posts with javelins pointed to the sky; they also hoped that no one would notice the slight hint of ammonia in the air.

"Make way for the Emperors Dragons" the false Imperial Soldier leading the group declared.

"Y-you want to bring them... in here?" one of the guards asked in absolute surprise "Inside the palace?"

"Those are our orders; we are to take them through to the central courtyard to await Emperor Scias's inspection."

"B-but they're wild, dangerous beasts" the guard protested "Wouldn't it be better to take them around to the rear courtyard?"

"Yes indeed...in fact I think it would have been better not to bring them into the city at all."

"Oh good" the guard sighed.

"But I'm more afraid of what the Emperor will do to me if I don't do as he commands, than I am of these dragons... and besides, they may be dangerous but they're not wild; they're wearing saddles... see?" the guards looked back to discover that this soldier spoke the truth.

"Why are they wearing saddles?" the guard asked.

"I assume because it's easier than riding them bareback" the Elydonian in wolves clothing declared.

"We captured them from the Wild Vikings" Hiccup spoke up "so the Emperor wants to force the prisoners to show us how to ride on them; just imagine it... you could be among the first members of the New Loren Imperial Dragon Force."

"Err... no... I can't imagine that at all" the guard declared as his partner nodded in agreement "it's our job to guard the palace entrance, and that's where we'll stay."

"Fair enough" Hiccup resigned himself as he started off into the palace again with the others following close behind.

"You're a pretty good actor" Hiccup whispered to his Elydonian ally as they entered the great marble entrance hall.

"Thank you" he replied as nobles, officials and servants ran screaming off in all directions at the first sight of the dragons "I played the lead role in more than one of our 'End of Year' plays at the Royal Elydonian Naval Academy. Maybe we should just ask to have the prisoners brought to us here."

"No; we stick to the plan" Hiccup ordered.

"I agree; panic is our friend" Snotlout declared.

As they moved purposefully through the main entrance hall, Hiccup nodded at the one man who wasn't scurrying quickly away; Darius smiled and nodded back.

* * *

Victor moved stealthily through the grounds of the port and back to warehouse; the wheel repairing craftsman had previously pointed it out to him as the location of the Emperor's murder. He entered through a side door and tried to put himself in the fleeing Kings shoes.

"Okay... bang, fire, general panic; I get away in the confusion and see a warehouse to hide in, so what do I do, where do I go?"

As he looked at all the possible places to hide another thought come to mind.

"But I don't want to be here long, so I've got to find an escape route" Victor pondered "I need a good viewpoint... the roof."

As he scanned for a ladder and a roof hatch, Victor noticed the steps leading to the upper level walkway and the many small shuttered windows along its length.

"Even better" he nodded to himself.

* * *

**The line 'Panic is our friend' was inspired by something Midoriko once told me about commas. Aren't you glad I told you that? :-D**


	31. Chapter 31

31 Sometimes Panic Just Isn't Enough

If only watches had been invented back on first century Berk, Astrid would be looking at hers now to see how long Victor had been gone. Some people might suggest that she could have looked at the time on the smartphone Hiccup didn't pull out a tear in space-time in the last chapter, but he was many miles away so she couldn't look at what he didn't have...

...my head hurts.

"Come on Astrid; tell me how clever I am" Victor demanded as he returned to where rider and dragon were hidden.

"Where did you get that?" Astrid smiled broadly as she caught the jacket Victor threw to her.

"Oh you're gonna love this" Victor explained "I found out that Emperor Scias is dead and Borges is telling everyone that King Joric murdered him."

"I dare say it was probably Borges that did the killing" Astrid huffed.

"And I think you're right but whoever did kill Scias, did it in a warehouse near to where the ships blew up. So I went and had a quick look round and... voila; a jacket with the Kings seal on it."

Astrid let Stormfly smell the jacket and the three started to move back around to the north side of the naval yard, checking every place where anyone had fled into the forest as they went.

* * *

"I know you're gonna think I've gone a little potty in the head, but I do believe I just heard something that sounded like the roar of a Monstrous Nightmare."

"And I do believe you're right Gobber" Stoick agreed.

"Really truly?" Gobber's face brightened.

"Yes" Stoick declared "I think you've gone potty in the head."

"It's people like you, my dear Chief, who cause unrest in the masses."

* * *

Inside the palace, Nobles, Aids and Servants still back away in fear as twenty fake soldiers led five genuine dragons towards the central courtyard of the Imperial Palace.

"I think they look sufficiently nervous for our present requirements" Fishlegs whispered to Hiccup.

"That they do" Hiccup agreed as he reached down to loosen a very import strap "In five everyone; four... three... two..."

In a simultaneous set of actions, the Dragon Riders went to work; Ruffnut pulled back on her Zipplebacks lead to give Snotlout some room while Fishlegs got the two Gronckles salivating with a few chunks of choice granite.

"SIT DOWN YOU STUPID DRAGON!" Snotlout shouted.

His blunt order had the exact effect on Hookfang that everyone expected; the dragon did not sit down, but instead opened its mouth wide and half swallowed Snotlout. Many of the people in the palace screamed and ran as Snotlouts legs dangled out of the dragon's mouth.

"Good boy Hookfang" the muffled voice of Snotlout declared.

While all eyes watched in horror as the young man was apparently eaten by the beast, Hiccup slipped off his leg and hid it underneath the New Loren soldier's tunic he wore; then Fishlegs tossed the lumps of granite stone in opposite directions. Meatlug galloped quickly to the left while the Gronckle Fishlegs had borrowed from Olaf hovered off to the right to retrieve the treat while people everywhere ran for their lives in all directions.

"AAARRGH... MY LEG, MY LEG!" Hiccup drove the panic home as he fell to the floor, holding his stump and writhing around in mock pain while Toothless crouched and tensed his body, roaring so loudly that dust and plaster began drifting down from the ceiling.

"GET OUT" the Elydonians in soldiers garb cried out to anyone still nearby, even though everyone was already running in panic "GET OUT BEFORE THEY KILL YOU ALL!"

A few of Hiccups allies stood by the massive front doors of the palace moving people outside while some of the others opened the big windows on the sides of the entry hall to shepherd more out that way.

"KEEP EVERYONE OUTSIDE TILL WE'VE GOT THESE DRAGONS BACK UNDER CONTROL" the great Elydonian actor and part time sailor called out to the palace guards before he slammed the doors shut.

"That should buy us ten to twenty minutes" Hiccup declared as he refitted his leg.

* * *

"Well that was a waste of time" Victor sighed as he, Astrid and Stormfly arrived at the top of a low cliff on the northern side of the New Loran docks.

"Well if Joric didn't escape into the surrounding countryside" Astrid pondered "then he's either been recaptured..."

"No word about that buzzing around the port" Victor noted.

"Or he's still hiding somewhere down there. If I wanted to avoid capture" Astrid continued her pondering "then where would I go?"

"Actually the question is, where would a King go?" Victor pointed out.

"No... we're both wrong" Astrid realised "When I first met Joric he wasn't a King, he was a Ship's Captain and I think he may have gone where he still feels more comfortable."

Victor noticed that Astrid was pointing to where some small two man row boats were stacked on the edge of the northern side of the dock.

"Do you seriously think he would try to get all the way back to Elydonia in one of those?"

"He's not trying to get back home" Astrid smiled "just away from here; come on Victor.

The young boy had to hurry lest he lose his lift, as Astrid leaped into her saddle once more.

* * *

"COME BACK HERE, YOU BAD DRAGON!" Snotlout cried out as he pursued Hookfang up the fifth flight of stairs.

While most people in the palace had fled, there were still some on the upper levels, but fortunately for Snotlout almost none of them were guards. So when the Monstrous Nightmare came rushing towards them, the Nobles and servants simply ran for their lives and hid in the nearest lockable room. When he did come across someone with a spear or sword, Snotlout just shouted at them to protect the Nobles, and because he was dressed in a soldier's uniform, they quickly obeyed (although it was true that the guards were just happy to be given an easy task, and were not ordered to tackle the smouldering dragon).

"I can't believe that worked so well" Snotlout said to himself as he reached the flat palace roof and made for the base of the towers.

It was quite easy for him to find the one with Tuffnut and his friends in it, as it was the only one with its conical roof demolished by a Changewing.

"Hookfang; stay here and guard the roof" Snotlout ordered his dragon as he unlocked the door at the tower base and hurried up the internal stairs.

The diversion attack would be starting any minute (if it hadn't already), so Snotlout knew he had better hurry and retrieve Tuffnut and his friends before returning to the base of the tower; Hiccup and the prisoners were counting on him to hold the roof for the eventual evacuation. His ego swelled with pride, just like it always did when he was doing an important task (not that it needed to be inflated any further), when a large lump of stone glanced off of his shiny soldiers helmet with a loud clang.

"OWW! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR DOIN' UP THERE?"

"Snotlout... is that you?" Tuffnuts voice echoed down the tower "What are you doing in that outfit?"

"Trying to tell you that it's time to go; now stop trying to kill me and come on."

Tuffnut and the Elydonian sailors cheered as they started down the steps; it had been very boring waiting for something to happen, but if they had bothered to keep an eye out in the streets below and not just in the tower, they may have noticed the dragons being led inside. There was only one member of their little band who was not happy to see everyone rushing off, and that was Dylan.

"What the..." he said to himself as they all disappeared "Snotlout you slimy little... WHERE'S MY DRAGON?!"

* * *

"Now that looks promising" Astrid declared as she pointed to a small sandy beach just over a mile north of the New Loren Naval Dock.

A clear line in the sand led from the water's edge to a forest, and as soon as Stormfly had touched down Astrid and Victor followed it to find a small rowboat hidden under some tree branches.

"Stormfly; seek" Astrid ordered; the extremely alert dragon sniffed at the boat and instantly recognised a slightly more salty version of the aroma on the jacket.

The young Viking girl and her junior spy accomplice, were soon chasing after Stormfly as she began crashing her way through the trees with single minded determination.

* * *

The jailer in charge of the outer section of the dungeon opened the tiny hatch in the heavy prison door and looked out at the soldiers standing before him.

"Wadda ya want?" he asked bluntly

"We've got another one of those Dragon Riders" the soldier informed him "We just want to throw him in with the others."

The jailer stood on his toes so he could look down and see Fishlegs the prisoner.

"What's the password?" the he demanded.

"No it isn't" declared the soldier.

"Umm... huh?" the jailer scratched his head.

"The password... it isn't What"

"I don't understand" the jailer was easily confused.

"You said the password was 'What' and I'm telling you, it isn't" the soldier declared "so if you don't know what the password really is, then you must be an enemy agent."

The jailer began to panic as the small group of soldiers all drew their swords and stared at him with suspicion in their eyes.

"I KNOW THE PASSWORD" he blurted out in fear of his life, even though he was behind a locked door.

"Then what is it?" the soldier sneered.

"PANSY; IT'S PANSY!"

"That's better" the soldier nodded as he and his men put away their weapons "Now open this door."

"Y-YES SIR" the panicking continued as the jailer fumbled with his keys.

As soon as the door finally swung open, the soldiers all filed in with Fishlegs in the middle.

"I don't want to hear anything about you making up strange and comical passwords ever again" the soldier ordered as he got right up in the jailers face.

"N-no sir... it will n-never happen again sir."

"Good; two of my men will guard the door here while you take the rest of us down to the other Dragon Riders and their friends."

"Right away sir" the jailer was rapidly developing a distinct dislike for the military.

"I'll stay here and keep a lookout" one of the fake soldiers whispered to his partner as the jailer lead the others deeper into the dungeon "while you go and tell Hiccup that we're in."

* * *

Meanwhile at the front entrance to the palace, an important message had just arrived from the city walls.

"Hello?" Ruffnut opened the huge door a little and poked her head out in response to the pounding of the guards outside "What do you want?"

"A report has just come in that there are men on dragons flying around outside and firing on the city walls; THEY'RE ATTACKING US."

"Well what do you want me to do about it?" she asked as her soldier's helmet slipped a little to the side.

"Haven't you got those dragons under control yet?" the guard inquired "We need to find the members of the senate, most of who are still inside, and receive their orders."

"Err... bad idea... um, still very dangerous in here... everyone is hiding from the wild dragons... running about upstairs and downstairs and err... in milady's chamber."

"What are you talking about?" the guard was starting to lose his temper with this short and quite feminine looking soldier "I can see the big two headed dragon is trying to hide behind the door, and the black one is curled up over there with those other guards and... hang on a second... didn't that runty soldier get his leg bitten off before?"

"Err... yes... yes, but um... it got better."

Ruffnut could see that she had totally lost her advantage so she signalled her dragon to puff a little green gas in the guards face and light it up. The guard and his companion must have been thrown back over fifteen feet by the small explosion and they fell to the ground with cacophony of clanks and clatters near the top of the outer courtyard.

"It was a boring conversation anyhow" Ruffnut declared as she slammed the door shut "HICCUP; WE'RE ABOUT TO HAVE COMPANY!"

* * *

**I hereby declare chapter 39 to be the weirdest thing I've ever written. I can hardly wait to find out what everyone thinks of it... oh, and I hope you Star Wars fans enjoyed the little reference at the end of this chapter (I should have put "Aren't you a little short for an Imperial Soldier?" in there somewhere).**


	32. Chapter 32

32 I Like New Loran In The Springtime  
(how about you?)

"I COMMAND YOU IN THE NAME OF THE ROYAL HOUSE OF ELYDONIA; PUT... ME... DOWN... NOW!"

"Sorry Your Majesty" Astrid smiled "Stormfly just thought we were playing one of her hunting games; this is how she retrieves Little Freya too.

"Well maybe so" Joric sneered a little as the happy dragon placed him on his feet once more "but to be held up by the belt of one's pants, hardly seems dignified for someone of royal personage."

"Anything you say... Captain Thorn" Astrid smirked.

"Alright, alright; don't rub it in" Joric sighed "So then; how are we going to rescue the others?"

"It should be well underway by now, so perhaps we'd better go and join in the fun."

"Agreed; umm... can your dragon carry three people?"

"Err... no, not all the way to the capital anyway" Astrid realised.

"Its okay" Victor told them "I'll wait back at the beach while you take King Joric back to the old farm."

"But what if you're caught lad" Joric asked concerned.

"Well it is easy for me to pass myself off as a local citizen... since I am one."

"WHAT?" Joric actually reached for his sword "But you were on the Berk longship ever since we left Port Yoric; what were you up to?"

"Calm down Joric" Astrid grabbed his arm "you know the stories about our adventures in New Loran last summer; well this young lad is the same one who pretended to be my brother Ruprecht, and helped us escape."

"And one of my masters died saving Astrid and her friends from execution this very morning."

"It's true, you remember the one we called Fotherington" Astrid pointed out "he did give his life to protect us; I'm sure Victor is on our side and can be trusted."

"Well... alright Astrid, if you say so."

"I do, but I don't want to leave Victor behind anyway."

"Ah" Joric nodded "Alright then... so I'll wait here for you to get back?"

"Not exactly" Astrid grinned.

* * *

Down in the dungeon, the jailer from the outer prison door led the Elydonians in their soldiers garb and their Berkian prisoner, passed the upper cells while sounds of moaning and cries for mercy echoed along the passageway.

"What are these ones in for?" the fake head soldier asked.

"Oh some are just petty thieves" the jailer replied "but most are here because they pissed off the Emperor in some way."

The party soon reached the heavy iron door to the inner dungeon where the people Scias hated most were sent, but the sounds that emitted from within were not the usual desperate pleas from even more desperate prisoners.

"What on earth is that horrible noise?" the jailer asked rhetorically.

"We call it Gobber" Fishlegs declared "but the acoustics in here do improve his singing a bit."

The fake soldier pounded on the inner door until a face appeared in the small peep hatch with a handkerchief stuffed into each ear.

"Yeah; wadda yer want" he asked as he pulled out one of the hankies "and make it quick will ya?"

"We've got another prisoner for you" the soldier declared as he presented Fishlegs.

"What's the password?" the inner jailer asked abruptly.

"Here we go again" the outer jailer sighed.

"Pansy" the soldier said adamantly.

"Oh that's just not fair" declared the outer jailer.

* * *

"HOW DOES ASTRID DO THIS?" Joric cried out as he hung on to Stormfly's reigns in terror.

"I don't know sir" Victor replied "but she always made it look so easy."

Fortunately for the two novice riders, the Deadly Nadder had a much better idea as to what to do, than they did and they were soon coming in to land back at the abandoned farm. Unfortunately though, Joric did not know that he should lean back as the dragon touched down and so he ended up being thrown out of the saddle and onto the dusty ground.

"Hello Joric" Starkard smiled cheerfully "so glad to see they found you, but err... where's Astrid?"

"Don't worry" Victor declared as he slid off of Stormfly's back "she'll be here soon."

The young boy turned to face the dragon and ordered her just as he had been instructed "Stormfly; go find Astrid."

The dragon did not have to be told twice and she was out of sight less than thirty seconds later.

"So what have I missed" Joric asked "have you come up with a rescue plan yet?"

"Oh yes" Starkard grinned "and it's already underway. Darius Gershwin went in first and tricked those soldiers tied up over there, into coming out to help recapture some of the dragons from the ship."

"Darius Gershwin?" Joric asked.

"Yes" Starkard replied.

"The master spy?"

"Yes."

"How many New Loran spies do we have in our working for us?"

"Only two now."

"Oh yes" Joric remembered "Astrid told me about Fotherington."

"Anyway to make a long story short, Hiccup and some of your men went in dressed as soldiers with a few captured dragons and are currently freeing the others while the rest of us are guarding these real soldiers in their undies, as well as keeping anyone from the port from getting back to the city... oh... and at the same time we're attacking the city walls to keep as much attention away from Hiccup's little band of heroes as we can."

"So what do we do next?" Joric was amazed to hear precisely what was going on.

"Hiccup said he'll send up a signal when he's ready, and then we'll fly in to the palace roof to pick everyone up."

"What kind of signal?" Joric asked.

"They've got dragons" Starkard sighed "what kind of signal do you think it will be?"

* * *

"How many prisoners is this cell meant to hold?" the fake soldier asked.

"Only one sir" the inner jailer answered.

"And how many are in it now?"

"Three sir" came the reply.

"Could we squeeze in a fourth?"

"I dare say we could" the jailer declared as he turned his key in the lock.

"I dunno... it looks awfully cramped in there" the soldier declared as the door swung open "Maybe we should reduce the number in here to two."

"But sir" the jailer objected "all the other inner cells are full."

"Well let's have a look then; YOU PRISONERS, GET OUT."

"W-what are you doing sir" the jailer asked as three sailors exited the cell into the passage.

"Testing the cell; you two jailers, come with me."

The soldier stepped into the now empty cell as the jailers followed him nervously.

"Oh no... this is no good" the soldier insisted "we can't even sit down even though the doors still open; let's see how it is if I step outside."

"The first jailer began to panic a little when the soldier stepped out of the cell and closed the door behind him, but the second jailer was quite calm about it.

"Don't worry, we can't get locked in; I've still got the..." He felt the clip on his belt and found it horrifyingly empty.

"Did you get them Toki?" the soldier asked.

"Right here sir" Toki jingled the key ring brightly.

"Oh you moron" the first jailer declared to his colleague as the cell door was locked with both of them still inside.

* * *

Hiccup knew it was far too risky to open the doors to the entrance hall in order to check what was happening outside; the sound of men trying to break down those same doors was his biggest clue.

"KEEP PILING UP THE FURNITURE" he ordered "AND BRING ANYTHING THAT WILL BURN."

Some of the Palace Guards who were still upstairs, had given up protecting the Nobles as soon as they realised that the soldiers chasing the dragons around the palace were actually enemy sailors and Vikings causing a distraction; they had tried to go on the offensive but the Gronckles soon forced them to change their minds.

"There are just too few of us" one had commented as he ran away from the panting dragon.

"True; and someone has to keep the senators and their families safe" another added.

"I agree wholeheartedly" a third concluded as the men all threw themselves back into a side room on the fourth floor and bolted the door behind them.

With the piles of heavy objects growing at every entrance to the palace, the news Hiccup had been waiting for finally made its way to the main entrance hall, from where the Dragon Master had been coordinating everything.

"The prisoners are being released as we speak Lord Hiccup" one of the Elydonians happily informed him "the first ones are now coming up to the servant's area in the basement and should be here soon."

"NO, don't bring them here" Hiccup ordered "Take them straight up to the palace roof and tell Snotlout it's time to send up the signal."

"Yes sir" the man saluted before he tore off his soldier's uniform and became an Elydonian sailor once again.

* * *

"Oh Footman" Emperor Borges called out through the open grill in the back of his coach.

"You called Your Highness" the servants voice replied.

"Please have the driver take it easy on the rougher patches of the road as I'm feeling out of sorts; it must be the shock of loosing Emperor Scias to that murderous Elydonian King."

The new Emperor had not even finished his sentence when the driver pulled the coach to a complete stop.

"What's happening" Borges asked "is anything wrong?"

"Yes Emperor Borges sir" the Footman declared "the head of your personal guard has called for the procession to stop sir; he is currently talking to some soldiers."

After a few minutes, the leader of the Imperial Guards rode back to the coach to give his report.

"What has happened Captain?" Borges asked.

"It's the Dragon Riders sir; they've blocked the road with trees a few miles ahead, and are thwarting any attempts to clear them away sir. I strongly suggest that you return to the Naval Base until the road can be made safe again sir."

"Very good Captain, we shall return at once; have someone ride on ahead and have suitable accommodations prepared for me."

"At once Highness" the captain saluted and rode off.

Borges sat back and smiled to himself; it was almost as if the Dragon Riders were working for him. If they were now attacking the capital and rescuing their friends, then everyone in the city and the senate was far more likely to believe his lies about Joric murdering Scias, and then no suspicion would fall onto him whatsoever.

* * *

Several new cracks formed in the palace doors with every push from the guards outside, and Hiccup knew that his time was running out fast.

"It looks like our time is running out fast son" Stoick declared as Hiccup threw another chair onto the pile holding the door.

"Dad; what are you doing here? I told Jorics men to get everyone up onto the roof."

"Aye son, but you're not Chief yet, so I still get to do what I want."

"Yeah... okay but... I've got a schedule to stick to so if you could just..."

"I know about your plan son; Fishlegs filled me in while we were getting everyone out of the cells" Stoick informed his son "and I was told that you wanted to be informed when everyone was out."

"Yes; that's right."

"Well everyone is out."

"Oh... good" Hiccup jumped onto Toothless's back and gave his final order in the palace.

"Ruff, give me thirty seconds and then light it up; I'll meet you and Dad on the roof."

"Righto" she replied.

Toothless galloped around the lower floor of the palace to where every door to the outside had been blocked with more piles of furniture, rugs, statues and anything else the sailors could find. As the dragon passed each one, a blast of blue plasma was sent into the piles making the area unpassable. With the final retreat now commencing, Hiccup had to make sure that those who wished to follow and stop him, would have the most difficult time he could give them. Back at the front entrance, the door creaked under the onslaught of the guards outside as Ruffnut counted down from thirty to one.

"Barf, Belch... do it" she smiled when she completed her countdown.

The noxious green gas flowed around the base of the pile and soon the whole lot, including the door itself were glowing brightly as they burned.

"Shall we go Chief?" Ruffnut asked as the sound of men retreating from the flames drifted in from outside.

"Sounds like a good idea to me" Stoick agreed and they rushed off up the main staircase.

* * *

**Pre-post update: I've just finished the story - 40 chapters and about 95 000 words; unless I can come up with an ****epilogue.**


	33. Chapter 33

33 Sometimes It Just Happens  
(no matter how hard you try)

Hiccup and Toothless were the last ones to exit the palace and they found the rooftop rescue in full swing when they arrived; Snotlout had sent up a fire signal as soon as the order had reached him and the dragons began arriving not long after. One by one the Dragon Riders, who had been keeping the cities guards and soldiers busy at the walls, climbed higher into the sky to avoid the spears and arrows aimed in their direction, and made for the palace roof. Each rider also lead one or two of the dragons that had been saved from the ship earlier in the day so as each one touched down, the rescued Vikings were happily reunited with their own dragons once more.

Although there was a lot of room to spare on the large and flat Palace roof, the dragon's arrivals and departures had to be closely managed. More and more soldiers and guards were arriving down below now that the dragons had stopped attacking the outer walls and flown deep into the city, and while some guards were attempting to push past the fires at the palace entrances, others were firing arrows and bolts up to the roof so everyone had to keep well away from the edges.

"You're doing a great job there Snotlout and Tuffnut" Hiccup noted as the two young men made sure that every departing dragon carried one of King Jorics men on its back as well as its rider.

"Of course we are" Snotlout puffed out his chest with pride "When you need something done right, just call on the Snotman."

"And then call someone else to fix the mess he's made" Ruffnut grinned.

"Who asked you?" Snotlout sneered.

"Now now Ruffnut, be fair" Hiccup suggested "Snotlout hasn't made a mess of anything yet."

"DID YOU REALLY HAVE TO SAY 'YET' HICCUP?" Snotlout protested.

"Err no... sorry about that" Hiccup apologised.

"Hey, if the helmet fits..." Ruffnut added.

Among the progressing line of dragons coming and going, Hiccup was pleased to see the arrival of a certain bluish Nadder and its stern, yet dainty looking rider; assuming someone with a massive battleaxe could ever be referred to as dainty.

"Astrid; I am so glad to see you're alright" Hiccup declared as he kissed her cheek "did you...?"

"Of course I did; he's back at the farm with Victor helping take care of our half naked soldiers."

"Ooo that reminds me" Ruffnuts eyes lit up "Come on Tuff; we're outta here."

Astrid could not help but giggle as Ruffnut climbed on her dragon without even waiting for her brother to do the same, and ordered the Zippleback into the air.

"Hey... wait for me" Tuffnut protested as he leapt up and grabbed the underside of the dragons left neck.

"Did you hear that Sigrid?" Gobber noted "They've rescued your husband."

"Oh I wasn't worried; I knew he'd be alright" She lied as she placed her hands on her unborn child.

"You're not foolin' anyone Lass" Gobber grinned at the expectant Viking Queen; she turned her head away slightly so he wouldn't see her trying to hold back a tear.

The numbers on the roof were rapidly dwindling, which suited Hiccup nicely. He was sure that the soldiers down below must have broken through to the entrance hall by now, and he was right; several groups were currently moving around the lower levels searching the palace for any sign of the Dragon Riders and their allies.

"Come on your most royal majestiness" Gobber nodded "time for you to go too."

He lead Sigrid to where three huge Nightmares had gathered together to await their riders. She petted Viper and Hookfang as she passed and could not help but smile at the looks on the dragons faces.

"Who was it who said that a dragon tends to take after its rider?" she asked.

"I dunno" Gobber pondered "Hiccup maybe... but it sounds like the sort of observation Fishlegs would make; why is that Sigrid?"

"Just look at these dragons" she gestured.

Gobber looked back and forth from dragon to dragon for a moment until it hit him like a Gronckle rushing to a rock pile.

"Oh my goodness" he tried and failed to hold back from laughing.

When Gobber stared at them long enough, he noticed a look of pride mixed with slight confusion coming from Hookfang, while Viper was stern, alert and constantly looking for any unexpected trouble.

"It's like looking at dragon versions of Snotlout and Stoick isn't it?" Sigrid smiled.

"I never would have thunked it, if I hadn't seen it with me own eyes" Gobber smirked "Now get your expectant butt up on your dragon and go back to your husband."

"Alright, alright ya soft hearted troll" Sigrid chuckled as she climbed onto Skywolf.

The Viking Queen began to wonder what it would be like trying to get into her saddle over the next nine months as the baby grew inside of her. Sigrid looked at Astrid and Hiccup as they saw to evacuation of the sailors while standing together hand in hand, and she realised that she would be able to give Astrid some help with what to expect as a pregnant Dragon Rider in a few years, when it would be her turn.

"Come on Toki" Sigrid called to her Elydonian friend "I'll give you a lift outta here."

"O-on YOUR dragon?" Toki exclaimed "With YOU? I couldn't Your Highness... I'll go with one of the others; it's not like the old days... you're the Queen now."

"Exactly, so do as your told" Sigrid ordered as she held out her hand to him.

"We're almost done here son" Stoick declared as three more dragons flew in "maybe you and Toothless should circle around the palace and make sure we're not going to get over run; most of our backup has left now."

Hiccup looked to the sky and saw that his father was right, but although the dragon numbers were dwindling as they made their way back to the farm, he could see also that several were returning after dropping off their passengers.

"Is all still clear at the tower Fishlegs?" Hiccup asked his friend who was keeping a close eye to make sure none of the enemy guards and soldiers were advancing up the stairs from the palace below.

"Still no sign of anyone Hiccup" came the reply.

"Good; help Snotlout with the last of the Elydonians and then take off yourselves while Astrid and I cover the retreat."

Arrows and crossbow bolts were shot up towards Toothless and Stormfly as soon as they flew out past the edge of the palace roof, but the dragons were high enough above the ground to make avoiding them a simple matter, as long as they stayed alert.

"I didn't realise so many soldiers had surrounded the palace" Astrid noted as she and Hiccup circled the plaza below.

"It certainly didn't take them long to get back here once they saw that the dragon attack outside the city was just a diversion" Hiccup agreed "but it's the front doors that have me worried."

As Astrid and Stormfly came around to the front of the building, she could see what concerned her fiancé; the main entrance had been fully breached and soldiers were pouring in rapidly. Neither of the Dragon Riders knew how long this had been happening, so they were totally unaware of just how many guards were working their way up to the roof at that very moment. Over a hundred men now scoured the inside of the palace building from the deepest dungeon to the highest floor, looking into every room for any sign of their enemy, and a group of eleven were just about to make a great discovery.

"We've found them" one whispered to his colleges as he peered through a crack in the door at the base of the tower "There aren't many left, but their leader is still here."

One of the other soldiers took a quick look through the crack and came to a fateful decision.

"You and you" he pointed to men with crossbows "follow me and take out the Viking Chief."

The two men nodded and braced themselves to strike, then in one quick and purposeful manoeuvre, the three of them burst through the door and onto the roof; before Stoick could even turn his head at the sound, two of the men had dropped to one knee as the third stood between them and together, they fired their bolts."

"DAD... NO!" Hiccup cried out, but he was too late and too far away to do anything to help his father.

Stoick's senses were aware of the fate that was about to befall him as soon as he heard the sound of the door and the twang of the crossbows. The deadly bolts would have surely found their target if it were not for the fact that there was someone else nearby; one who was closer than Hiccup and Toothless, but just as alert. At the first sign of trouble, Viper had leapt into action; his fire blast was away before the men could completely squeeze their triggers and with one beat of his massive wings, he was already in motion towards his master and friend. The charred remains of the three men were thrown back into the doorway along with the blast of fire, sending the remaining soldiers retreating back down the steps as they desperately beat the fire from their hair and clothes, while up on the roof the Dragon Riders came to terms with the latest of their losses.

Hiccup leapt from Toothless's back as soon as his dragon touched down while Astrid guided Stormfly in to land near the burning door. The Nadder's cry echoed through the tower as a warning to any others who would dare to climb the stairs to the roof.

"Oh Dad" Hiccup sighed "I'm so... so sorry... I... should have seen it coming."

"It's alright son... it's not your fault" Stoick knelt down, placing his hand on the head of the dead dragon; Viper lay still and quiet with two bolts in his chest and one in his neck

"Thank you... my friend" Stoick said softly "You saved my life."


	34. Chapter 34

34 Undeserved Mercies

The old abandoned farm certainly didn't look very abandoned anymore with ever increasing numbers of Vikings, dragons and sailors flying in every minute. It was starting to get so crowded, that some of the Vikings were already preparing for the next part of their journey, back to Elydonia. Joric and Sigrid had taken up permanent residence in each other's arms, and shivering enemy soldiers were being given some of their uniforms back; much to Ruffnut's disappointment.

"What are we going to do with them all?" Mulch asked.

"I suppose that's up to the Chief and the King" Olvor replied as she adjusted her Zippleback saddle for a longer trip.

"If you've got your stone hammer with you Mr. Mulch, you could always do to them what you did to me when we first met" King Joric grinned "I remember that it was very effective at inducing long term unconsciousness."

"You're never going to let me live that down, are ye?" Mulch huffed as the others laughed.

"Hey Ack, have you seen Agnar anywhere?" Big Freya asked with Little Freya giggling loudly as she rode on her mother's back.

"Last time I saw him, he was going with Kara's group to keep an eye on the port road... why?"

"I just wanted to thank him for taking care of my little terror while I was a guest of the Emperor."

The familiar cry of the night fury pierced the air as Toothless swept down to the ground nearby followed by the last of the evacuees from the palace dungeons.

"Hi Astrid" Little Freya laughed as she and Hiccup dropped out of the saddle "Where's Stormfly?"

"I've lent her to the Chief" came the reply as Big Freya and Ack looked skyward and saw why.

"Oh no" Sigrid remarked as she saw it too.

At the rear of the line, Stoick rode in on Stormfly with three other dragons and riders; gently supported in their claws was Viper, limp and lifeless. They set his body down near the edge of the field about a hundred and fifty feet from the forest tree line before wandering off to collect large branches and logs for firewood.

"You would not believe how quickly he moved" Hiccup told his father "he was determined to save you... even at the cost of his own life."

"I know he was very happy being your dragon Chief" Astrid added "but I don't think he ever really got over losing Ivar last year, and I'm quite sure that he did not want to lose another rider."

"Maybe so Astrid" Stoick sighed "maybe so... but if you think about it, it's astounding that we didn't suffer much greater losses... considering the risks you've taken; well done Hiccup."

"I didn't do it alone Dad."

"Indeed... and I'm very proud of everyone."

"How did my people go Hiccup?" Joric asked "I hope they were a help and not a hindrance."

"Things would not have gone so smoothly without your sailors by our side" Hiccup was able to tell Joric precisely what he wanted to hear "We had one guy who was such a good an actor, that he almost had me convinced he was an Imperial Soldier."

* * *

Only half an hour passed by before everyone was ready to leave for Elydonia, but there was still one more thing that needed to be done.

"When we return to Elydonia" Stoick announced to the gathered crowd "we will take time to remember those we have lost and we will drink to their memory, but for now let us consider the sacrifices made as we lay these last heroes to rest."

Stoick gave a signal to Hiccup, who in turn nodded to his dragon. Toothless took a step forward, raised his head high and roared into the empty sky as several other dragons set the funeral pyre alight. Everyone stood in silence as the flames grew higher around Fotherington and Viper; they thought about everything they had been through since the attack on their ships, and they thought about the friends they had lost. After a few minutes, a single Elydonian voice began to sing a soft and gentle song of love and loss, and the others soon joined in.

The Vikings did not know the song the sailors sang, but it touched their hearts with its melodic tune and soulful lyrics. They sang of a child whose father had not returned from war, and of the mother who had died of a broken heart. They sang of the setting sun and the withering rose, along with the hope of the new dawn and the fresh flowers of spring after a long and bitter winter.

When the song was done, nobody moved for what seemed to be the longest time, but eventually they all began to walk towards their dragons; Vikings climbed into saddles before offering help to their allies, as Stoick approached two people who did not quite fit into either category.

"I suppose I should ask you what you wish to do, rather than just making assumptions."

"We still desire to see your home sir" Darius declared "and to learn more of these dragons."

"With respect sir" Victor interrupted "for now, I'd rather stay here and find out what the new Emperor plans to do."

"Humph" Darius gave a small laugh "I have been so intent on following my own desires and what I wanted to do, that I had not given any thought as to what it was I should do... and Victor is right; we all need to know what schemes Borges will concoct in his twisted little mind."

"But surly it's not safe for you here" Astrid noted as she and Hiccup eavesdropped in on the conversation.

"On one hand, it never was" Darius pointed out "But on the other hand, Karoc is dead and he was our biggest enemy... as my former employer."

"Come with us to Elydonia at least" Hiccup insisted "so we can discuss the future a bit more before we decide the best course; we can always give you a lift back here if you choose to return."

Darius Gershwin looked down at Victor and sighed "Alright... let's be off."

Hiccup and Astrid led the two spies to Ack and Starkard, and saw them safely off Elydonia while the King and the Chief wandered over to their prisoners.

"Well I don't want them" Joric declared "how about you?"

"It's not as if we need them as hostages till we get to the border" Stoick agreed "We're flying back."

"It wouldn't help to have them anyway" Joric shook his head "An Imperial Soldier would fire on his own mother if so ordered."

"I suppose we've no other choice then" Stoick nodded.

The soldiers listened to this conversation with trepidation.

"This is it" one of them said to the others as he resigned himself to his fate "Time to die!"

"ALL RIGHT YOU LOT" Stoick ordered those of his people guarding the prisoners "GET TO YOUR DRAGON'S AND GET OUT OF HERE."

While this was happening, King Joric then addressed the Imperial Soldiers.

"When you get home, you will not doubt hear rumours that I murdered your Emperor" a vocal rumble moved throughout the mass of men as they learned of Scias's death.

"I realise I have no way of proving anything to you, but I am telling you the truth when I say that I left Emperor Scias alive and in the care of Borges. So if you want to know who really killed him... well... work it out for yourselves. Now get going and I hope I never see any of you again."

"They're letting us go!" one of the soldiers declared in complete surprise.

"No... it's a trick" another sneered "As soon as we start to leave, it will be arrows and dragon fire in the back."

The soldiers watched as the Viking guards left on their dragons; they watched as King Joric climbed up onto Skywolf's saddle with his wife and flew off with Chief Stoick on Stormfly. Finally they watched the girl with the axe blow them a kiss as she departed on the back of a fierce black dragon flown by a young man with one leg.

"Any minute now" the suspicious soldier noted.

"Oh shut up and let's go home" his friend declared as the soldiers all walked off.

* * *

Every beat of the dragon's wings brought the weary travellers closer to the safety of Elydonia, and the hope of a long, well deserved rest.

"I think I'd better ask Stoick for some dragon piloting lessons when we get home" Joric informed Sigrid "I had a very difficult time riding Stormfly back from the port, but he's having no trouble at all."

"Don't worry Pumpkin" Sigrid replied "I'll show you all the tricks."

"Well you could Hunnybun, but I'm banning you from dragon riding till the baby is born."

"Yeah right" Sigrid chuckled "good luck with that."

"Or maybe till he or she starts school."

"Err... Pumpkin" Sigrid pointed down "should we be worried about that?"

The Dragon Riders were still deep in enemy territory, so the last thing they expected to see was a massive column of Elydonian soldiers marching south towards the New Loren capital.

"Yes my Dear; we should be Very worried about that. HEY STOICK; WE'VE GOT A PROBLEM!"

The Viking Chief looked down and saw what had Joric and Sigrid concerned.

"HICCUP!" he called out and his son flew over "Get the Dragon Riders to fly in a circle while we find out what's going on down there."

"You got it Dad" the young man replied.

Stormfly and Skywolf swept sharply down and came in to land in front of the long line of soldiers. The two horses leading the procession were being ridden by one of Jorics own generals on the left, and a good friend on the right.

"YOUR MAJESTIES!" Kylan cried out as she leapt from her horse, stumbling a little as she did "Your alright; I'm so glad to see you safe."

"We all are" General Thurston smiled.

"Never mind that; what are you doing in New Loren with half the army?" Joric demanded.

"Looking for you M'lord" Kylan declared "When Hiccup told us about your capture, almost every piece of evidence we had, pointed to Emperor Scias; so we..."

"So you left the kingdom undefended..." Joric began.

"Oh no M'lord" General Thurston interrupted "these are mostly special volunteers."

"Special volun...?"

Joric looked back along the line of soldiers and noticed at last what his general was telling him. The column that stretched back along the road consisted of rows of five; a fully armed soldier on each side with three very rural looking people standing between them carrying a very rural style of weaponry.

"And these are only the volunteers from the southern and southeast counties" Kylan informed him "We sent the rest to the eastern borders with Gondland and Mandoria... just in case."

"But Hiccup and the Dragon Riders rescued us; you should have just defended Elydonia" Joric was adamant.

"And let Scias think he can just take our ships, our people, our King and our allies whenever he wants? I am sorry to disagree with you, but oh no M'lord."

"HA!" Stoick laughed as he slapped Joric on the back "Looks like you have some wise and loyal people behind you."

"Well these wise and loyal people better turn around and get their wise and loyal butts back to Elydonia" the King insisted.

"What about the navy?" Kylan asked.

"What navy?" Joric sighed.

"Umm... well... your navy."

* * *

**Okay... so this is how it went down; I had just gotten to the middle of this chapter, where Darius and Victor agree to go back to Elydonia, when I decided that with chapters 17 to 33 of Act II done, it was time to start posting. The only bit left to write was the return and a little closing piece... but then...**

**I spent the next 10 days re-writing and polishing from chapter 16 onwards and found that (as usual) I had completely forgotten what I had written; so it was a bit like reading a new story. By the time I got to this chapter, I was really desperate to find out what happened, and how the story ended... but it didn't.**

**I actually cried out in frustration that it stopped mid sentence with **"Hiccup and Astrid led the" **and soon found myself pacing around the room wondering what happened next. Eventually the ideas started to flow and I realised that I was not yet ready to close it off (this is how Seasick Dragon went from 2 acts to 5) so I decided to make their exit a little hairy; not much, just a few chapters (I think).**


	35. Chapter 35

35 I Must Go Down To The Sea Again  
(To the lonely sea and sky.  
I left my dragon saddle there;  
I wonder if it's dry?)

Toothless dropped quickly down from the sky as Hiccup answered his father's call.

"Hi Hiccup, hi Astrid" Kylan smiled and waved as the Night Fury landed "Great to see you succeeded with the rescue."

"We really didn't expect to see you here today" Hiccup noted "What happened?"

"Never mind the pleasantries now son" Stoick interrupted "Kylan has just informed us that a big chunk of the Elydonian navy is currently sailing south searching for us. I've got to get everyone here safely back across the border so I want you and your friends to go find those ships and turn them around at once; and Astrid, you'd better take Stormfly back while I stay with the troops.

"You got it Chief" Astrid saluted as she vaulted from the back of the Toothless.

"Do you think it's wise to be grounded in enemy territory Dad?"

"Don't worry son; this time we're fully alert and dragon heavy" Stoick declared "plus we've got spies. So go tell Starkard and Ack to bring Darius and Victor down; then you go find those ships."

Toothless and Stormfly shot skyward and headed for the circling dragons overhead. After sending the spies down to his father, Hiccup called on his friends to follow him before heading due west towards the sea.

"So where are we going now? Snotlout sounded so bored with the detour.

"There's a fleet of Elydonian ships headed south to search for everyone who was taken prisoner by the empire" Hiccup informed them.

"Well that's nothing but complete waste of time" Tuffnut declared "since we've already been rescued."

"But they don't know that Tuffnut" Hiccup tried not to sound condescending, but he didn't do a very good job of it.

"Well they should try to keep up with current events" Tuffnut was adamant.

"Yes... that's right Tuffnut; they should" Hiccup sighed after giving up all pretence of tact.

* * *

Back on the ground, Kylan sent General Thurston to the far end of the column with orders to lead the Elydonians on the long march back to the border

"How are you with horses Mr. Gershwin?" she then asked the senior spy.

"I'm no cavalryman" he replied "but I do alright."

On hearing this, Kylan dismounted and gave her horse to Darius so he could search the surrounding forest for any sign of trouble. She and Stoick walked along at what was now the rear of the column, while Starkard and Victor flew a few miles ahead to act as forward scouts. Kara was ordered to lead the Dragon Riders straight to the Elydonian border with all speed, drop off their passengers and return immediately to the ground force. If an attack came, Stoick did not want all his dragons weighed down with two riders each; he wanted them fast and agile.

"We shouldn't have any trouble" Kylan informed Stoick "We left all the New Loran border troops tied up and under heavy guard, so I doubt that anyone else in the empire even knows we're here."

"I just hope you're right Lass" Stoick declared while glancing around at the road behind him.

* * *

"Which way do we go now?" Ruffnut wondered when the Dragon Riders finally sighted the ocean.

"We head out till the land is just visible, and then turn south" Hiccup informed them all "If we haven't found the fleet by the time we get back to the New Loran naval port, then we sweep out west for another ten miles and turn north again."

"I've got a better idea" Fishlegs declared.

"What's that Legs?" Hiccup enquired.

"We go straight for that column of smoke on the western horizon."

"That might work too" the Dragon Master agreed as the five dragons began to pick up speed.

At first Hiccup thought he was looking at a small fire in the near distance but as the dragons flew on, the smoke grew thicker while staying firmly on the horizon.

"Oh this does not look good at all Hiccup" Fishlegs shivered a little.

"Yeah, it's further away than I thought."

The sight that greeted them when they finally drew near enough to see, was a major battle being fought by over twenty ships; there were small fires on many of them but three were fully ablaze.

"How do we tell which ones are Elydonian?" Fishlegs asked confused.

"You can be pretty sure the ones that shoot at you, aren't very friendly" Snotlout declared before he dove on the raging battle.

"SNOTLOUT; WAIT!" Hiccup tried to stop the impetuous rider but soon gave up.

"Oh well" he sighed "Who wants to live forever... DIVE!"

The four remaining dragons followed Snotlout as he swept down out of the sky and into battle.

"I'm not missing out this time" Tuffnut declared as he and his sister tired to catch the Nightmare.

Hiccup noticed from the uniforms of the crews and the flags they flew, that the three burning ships all belonged to his allies, who appeared to be outnumbered two to one. The enemy's faster ships were all in close combat, while the bigger battleships were rapidly moving in behind with troops ready to board.

"Hey Snotlout, it's time to even up the odds a bit" Hiccup called out "Take the twins and stop those battleships. Burn their sails like we did yesterday so they can't get close, and then help drive off the troops who have already boarded."

"I'm on it" the young man agreed and peeled off to retrieve the Thorstons.

"Fishlegs; let's try and separate the enemy vessels so no more men can get on board the Elydonian ships."

"Okay Hiccup" Fishlegs nodded and began looking for his best opportunity.

"What about me Babe?" Astrid asked as Hiccup just smiled at her.

"Go nuts Honey" was all he said.

"Yeah!" she grinned as she sent her dragon into a sharp dive.

She picked out an allied ship with two enemy vessels flanking it. Imperial soldiers had just begun to swarm onto the deck from each side when a line of Nadder spines came flying in, embedding themselves on the railing of the starboard ship. The soldiers jumped back in surprise a split second before a fire ball struck the deck and threw them all backwards. Stormfly was nothing more than a greenish blue blur as she shot through between the ships before turning back to run through the port vessel. In a change of tactic, Astrid used Stormfly's sharp teeth and claws to slice through rope after rope in the rigging of the enemy ship as the dragon twisted and spun though the air. Four large sails dropped down onto the soldiers, exceedingly hampering their movements and making it virtually impossible for them to continue their attack. Astrid smiled and waved to the Elydonians as they cheered at the change in their fortune; although the cheer really sounded more like a roar.

The best opportunity that presented itself to Fishlegs, was in the form of an enemy clipper that had moved in behind one of the Elydonian ships. Its mid deck was packed with soldiers waiting for their chance to board while up on the bow, archers rained sharp pointy death down from above. The Elydonians shot back just as rapidly but their ship could not match the speed of the enemy and soon, several grappling hooks were attached to the starboard rail as the two ships were drawn together. Meatlug went into a sharp dive before levelling off between the two vessels; she moved so fast that the enemy archers could not get a bead on her as she buzzed by. The mighty rock munching mouth opened wide and hooked up all the ropes from the grappling hooks, pulling them out of the Elydonian ship. Fishlegs then turned Meatlug sharply to starboard, steering the enemy vessel away. A few archers attempted to fire on the dragon, but the lurching bow prevented them from taking proper aim. One did manage to pull off a lucky shot that arced in the air and came down on a sharp angle. Fortunately for Fishlegs and Meatlug it hit the leather seat of the rider's saddle, but Fishlegs posterior still came into contact with the sharp barb; this caused the young man to yelp in pain and swear a fiery revenge.

Snotlout and the twins were doing a marvellous job of hassling the bigger vessels; rigging and superstructure now blazed on most of the battleships as their crews concentrated less on attacking, and more on fighting fires. While the other young riders got on with the job of taking care of the enemy ships, Hiccup was more concerned with helping those of his allies who were in the biggest trouble. He took Toothless high up to the clouds before they both went into a sharp dive towards the sea.

"Come Bud; faster" he urged the dragon as it fell.

As the speeding pair neared the water, Hiccup changed the angle of the red leather tail and brought the dragon in, on a long sweeping arc back into horizontal flight barely two feet above the sea. The whining sound of a Night Fury at attack speed always demanded the attention of anyone nearby, but this time Toothless flew so fast that many of the sailors on the ship ahead of him had to protect their ears from the piercing noise. The dragon was displacing so much air as it flew, that a plume of salty water lifted up behind them in a massive spray. Hiccup held his breath as Toothless approached the first of the burning Elydonian ships at a shallow angle; he had to wait until the very last second if this gamble was going to pay off.

"Almost there Toothless... almost there... ... ... NOW!"

The dragon banked ever so slightly as it flashed passed the ship; departing from the stern at a similar but reversed angle from which they had approached the bow. The velocity of the great mass of sea spray, kept it moving dead forward and it hit the burning ship with an almighty crash causing the vessel to lurch back; great clouds of steam billowed out in every direction, as almost every part of the wild blaze was immediately doused.

"Oh YES!" declared the ship's Captain declared through gritted teeth as his crew continued to fight the few small spot fires that were left.

"Okay Toothless" Hiccup began breathing again "Let's see if we can pull that off a couple more times."

* * *

**Hi all. The title of this chapter came from the John Masefield poem 'Sea Fever' as altered (butchered) by the late, great Spike Milligan. I went onto YouTube to see if any episodes of the programme 'Muses with Milligan' were there, and found something called 'Spike Milligan deals with a gatecrasher on live TV'. It was so funny, I wet myself; check it out (along with 'Spike Milligan – Grovelling Bastard where he bags Prince Charles; only Spike could get away with that).**


	36. Chapter 36

36 The Boy Stood On The Burning Deck  
(whence all but he had fled... twit.)

The intervention of the Dragon Riders had certainly turned tide of the battle between the small Elydonian flotilla and the New Loran naval force; but so far they had only turned it from unmitigated disaster, into a fighting chance. After their initial success, the young Berkians found that their enemy had soon gotten used to the presence of the dragons (which had come as a bit of a shock at first) but thankfully enemy was now keeping their distance. Although the New Loran Commanders knew the Emperor had sent them out to find dragons, most found it very hard to believe that really existed until the flames rained down from above. Fires now burned on seven Imperial vessels, with another three unable to successfully navigate anymore due to the damage rort on them by the dragons, but the other six were beginning to stem the tide by concentrating on the flying foe instead of the Elydonians.

Astrid scanned the battlefield looking for inspiration for her next move when she heard the unmistakeable whine of a high speed Night Fury again, but this time she was in the correct position to see what Hiccup was up to. As a second burning ship was doused by a massive plume of water churned up by Hiccup and Toothless, a new idea began to form in her fertile mind.

"Momentum" she smiled to herself.

She looked around and spotted a big red dragon that provided Astrid with just what she needed; in spite of who was riding it.

"Snotlout; I need your help" she declared as Stormfly pulled alongside Hookfang.

"Of course you do... though I never thought I'd hear you admit it" the proud young man replied.

"I wonder about you sometimes Snotlout" she sighed while shaking her head "and not in a good way either. Listen closely; I want you to keep alongside me. We're gonna dive down and fly as fast as we can towards that enemy ship in front of us."

"That's crazy; are you sure you don't want the twins to help you?" he asked "They like crazy... hell, they are crazy."

"Just shut up and listen will you" Astrid fumed "We'll fly in fast and straight and catch the enemy off guard, then I want you to land Hookfang on the very top of the forward mast; I'll do the same on the main mast."

"Oh what a wonderful idea" Snotlout rolled his eyes "They won't be suspecting us to surprise them with a sitting target."

"JUST DO IT; YOU SON OF A HALF TROLL!"

"Alright, alright" he resigned himself as the dragons went into a long, deep dive.

Although the Nadder and the Nightmare were neither as fast as a Night Fury, they could still move at an impressive speed and for what Astrid had in mind, it was their greater size and weight that gave them a distinct advantage. Before the Imperial troops were even aware that they were under attack once more, the dragons had flown in from the starboard side of their ship. Still travelling at very high speed, Hookfang and Stormfly twisted their bodies slightly so that their talons could make firm contact with the vertical masts.

The effect of Astrids manoeuvre was un-noticeable on the deck below, but only at first. Thanks to the height of the two masts, they gave the speeding dragons an incredible amount of leverage, so it was not long before the entire ship began to list sharply to port. As the deck angle increased, imperial sailors and soldiers began to lose footing and fall. Some slid down the deck, while others tried desperately to hold on to the starboard railing, but they soon fell as the deck neared total verticality. The dragons stretched out their wings for balance as their perches fell rapidly down towards the sea until Astrid finally decided that enough was enough.

"Okay Snotlout; let her go!"

Most of the enemy, who had not fallen off the port side of the ship, were soon hurled over the starboard rail as the ship righted itself with a violent heave. It rocked back and forth like an upside down pendulum sending men and gear rolling across the deck, over and over again.

"DID YOU SEE THAT?" Ruffnut cried out "Astrid and Snotlout just employed the velocity of their dragons, as well as the leverage supplied by the length of the masts, to turn their mass into a momentum force powerful enough to almost capsize a battleship... amazing."

"SCIENCE!" Tuffnut declared gleefully.

"Well that's taken the fight out of one ship" Snotlout grinned "Where did you get the idea for that?"

Astrid just pointed down as Hiccup and Toothless swept by on their way to extinguish the last of the burning Elydonian ships.

Maybe it was the strain of doing such a stressful manoeuvre three times in succession, or maybe dragon and rider had become overconfident after successfully extinguishing two fires, but the third pass did not go according to plan at all. Hiccup smiled to himself as he and Toothless drew closer to the burning ship; one more high speed pass, one more plume of sea water and more of his allies would be saved.

"Okay Toothless... almost there" He repeated.

Hiccup tensed up and leaned to the left to begin his turn as the ship loomed up in front of him, but this time he left it too late. Toothless's front claws made contact with the side of the ship sending the pair tumbling along the freeboard until they both crashed into the water.

"HICCUP!" Astrid gasped as her heart skipped a beat.

"YOU GUYS HELP TOOTHLESS" she called out to the other riders "I'll get Hiccup. Stormfly; FETCH!"

As the other three dragons dropped down to Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly drove headlong into the sea. Pulling in her wings, the Nadder used the entire length of her body as an extension of her thrashing tail, to drive her through the water towards the rapidly sinking Hiccup. His metal leg was acting just like an anchor dragging him down into the black depths. Astrid kept her eyes shut and her body close to the dragon so she would not cause any more drag as they plunged deeper and deeper into the darkness; her lungs began to burn, crying out for fresh air but all she could think about was her love for Hiccup and how she would die inside if anything were to happen to him.

'This must be how Hiccup would have felt when he first heard the attack from New Loran' she thought as she realised he would have had no way of knowing if she, or anyone else for that matter, were alive or dead for days afterwards. He must have died a little inside as well.

At last Astrid felt Stormfly slow and change direction as the dragon swam underneath, lifted her head and sent Hiccup into Astrid waiting arms. The young woman gritted her teeth as she held him, determined not to pass out as Stormfly swam back to the surface again.

Barf and Belch meanwhile, had wrapped their tail around the body of the stunned Night Fury as Hookfang lifted its tail. With Meatlug supporting Toothless's head, the three dragons lifted their friend out of the sea, and onto the deck of the ship he had just saved. As the riders leapt off their dragons, Fishlegs was the first to reach the moaning dragon and although he was very worried about Toothless's condition, he was extremely pleased to hear the mournful sound; it meant he was still breathing.

The same could not be said for the second one to be rescued; a mountain of spray shot into the air as Stormfly and her charges burst out of the water. She spread her wings and banked around in a tight loop, which brought her back the ship, where Ruffnut and Snotlout helped lower the limp body of the Dragon Master down to the deck. They turned him on his side to let the water flow out of his mouth, but he still did not move.

"WHY ISN'T HE BREATHING" Astrid declared while still gasping herself.

"He was down too long" one of the sailors sighed "his lungs must be full."

Without another word, Astrid dropped to her knees; she turned hiccup onto his back and taking a deep breath, she placed her mouth over his and blew hard. She felt most of the air come out of his nose so she clamped it shut, took another deep breath and tried again. His chest rose rapidly before he coughed, sending a salty spray of water all over Astrids face.

"Eeeyuck" the others winced, but Astrid just smiled as Hiccup continued coughing.

Just as it was with Toothless, his coughing was a sign to her that he was still alive, and she thought it was a wonderful sign.

In spite of the damage wrought on the enemy by the Dragon Riders, the Elydonian ships were still well out numbered, so Astrid sent the twins and Snotlout back up with orders to just hassle their foe, and prevent them from getting to close to their allies vessels. Fishlegs took care of Toothless while the sailors worked hard to get the badly burnt ship back in order, when two of the ships officers approached Astrid to thank the Berkians for their help.

"We thought we were done for" one of them explained.

Yes indeed" agreed the other "The Captain is inspecting the damage below deck at the moment, but he will be along to thank you personally very soon."

"Now that you're here, we are hoping that most of the fleet will be able to continue onwards to search for and rescue our people" the first continued "Do you intend to come with us?"

"No need" Astrid smiled "Apart from those killed when the Imperial fleet attacked us, everyone has already been rescued and they are currently on their way back home as we speak; and before you ask, the King and Queen are both fine... well... they will be after a good rest."

The officers were relieved to hear the good news, although they were not happy to hear of their losses. One of them left to inform the Captain while the other called on one of the sailors.

Send a message to the Flagship informing them that the captors have all been saved and request further orders.

"Who's in charge of the fleet?" Hiccup asked as he tried to sit up "Sigfus I assume."

"No sir; Lord Boron was given command while Lord Sigfus is running both the land and sea operations from Port Yoric."

"How do you feel Babe?" Astrid knelt back down.

"Dizzy; like I've been riding a Typhoomerang on Dragon Nip. How's Toothless?" he asked as he tried, and failed to stand.

Astrid looked over behind Hiccup to Fishlegs, who gave a thumbs up.

"Fishlegs is with him and it looks like he's okay... but you've got to be more careful!" she huffed and punched him in the arm.

"Oww" he winced "Yes dear; anything you say dear."

"Damn straight" Astrid agreed "but you can drop the sarcasm."

* * *

**In keeping with the current theme of chapter titles from old poems, this one was another Spike Milligan 'New and Improved' version of Casabianca by ****Felicia Hemans.**


	37. Chapter 37

37 A Nice Place To Visit  
(but I wouldn't want to die there)

"Well... okay... but you're really not going to like this" Darius sighed as he prepared to give his report.

"Like it or not, we have to know" Kylan insisted.

"Besides that, not knowing would be dangerous" Stoick agreed.

"Alright then... I understand you must have been very cautious when you attacked the border post and crossed into New Loran, but the guards managed to get a runner away when they saw you approach, and that runner made it to a village down the road. The villagers sent a rider to the Garrison Fort eight miles from here and so as we speak, there is a large force of soldiers and cavalry somewhere behind us, on their way here."

"Just as well you turned us around when you did Stoick" Kara noted "or else we would have run straight into them."

"I suggest you take your horse back Kylan, ride up to the front of the column to inform General Thurston that we had better not make any rest stops."

"I agree" she replied as Darius dismounted and returned Kylan's horse to her "and well done Mr. Gershwin."

"Indeed Darius" Stoick nodded "We owe you much for this."

"Really?" the spy was shocked "You're not angry that I brought you bad news?"

"You brought us bad news... that we needed to know" Stoick declared "Why would we be angry?"

"Oh I am going to enjoy working with you" Darius smiled at the confused Viking Chief.

"Err... that's good... I think... but how did you find out all your information anyway?

"Didn't Hiccup and Astrid tell you; I'm very good at what I do."

Stoick did like Darius Gershwin, but he also was beginning to understand why Hiccup had not trusted him at first; there is something a little unsettling about a smugly grinning spy.

* * *

"It doesn't matter how many times I see it, I'm still amazed every time I see a dragons powers of recovery."

The battered and bruised Hiccup lent back against the foremast watching Toothless as he bounced around the mid deck, following the exploits of the other dragons as they flew in the distance keeping the enemy at bay.

"Well you may be the Dragon Master, but you still need to take your time" Astrid was firm "That was quite a hit you took... plus you nearly drowned."

"Nothing's gonna happen to me as long as I've got you by my side" the young man declared as he took Astrids hand and pulled her down into his lap.

"Ahem... excuse me" the ship's captain attempted to tactfully interrupt the amorous couple.

"Just a minute" Hiccup mumbled out of the side of his mouth "almost finished."

"Well... when you're ready, Lord Boron requests your presence on his flagship."

"Come on Babe" Astrid pulled away and leapt up "Back to work."

"Work work work; that's all it seems to be these days.

"Oh stop complaining" Astrid huffed as helped Hiccup to his feet... err... foot.

"How did you get Boron's message so fast without a dragon?" Hiccup asked the Captain and was shown two bright flags that were used to send signals from ship to ship.

"That's clever; it's like hand signs that can be seen at a longer distance" Astrid was impressed "I may steal that idea."

Hiccup stumbled a little while walking over towards the railing to get his over excited dragon.

"I think I'd better drive" Astrid declared as she helped support him.

* * *

With Stormfly flying along side, Astrid piloted Toothless up to check on the other Dragon Riders first before she took Hiccup over to the flagship.

"How goes it Snotlout?" Hiccup asked.

"Hookfang hasn't got another shot left in him" Snotlout replied "but fortunately the enemy doesn't know that; so all we have to do is fly around threateningly and they'll keep their distance."

"Good work; hopefully they'll be satisfied with the fact that we're retreating. We're headed over to see Boron so keep it up and we'll be back soon."

"Okay... no hurry" Snotlout waved still relishing having his own dragon back.

On the deck of the flagship, the former king of Elydonia smiled broadly as the dragons touched down nearby.

"We were very glad to see you" Boron admitted on their arrival "I don't think we could have held out much longer without help."

"You were just lucky we came across the ground forces when we did" Astrid declared.

"And that Kylan told us you were here" Hiccup added "I assume you know that everyone has already been rescued?"

"Yes, we got the message by signal flag" Boron informed them "but Astrid's presence was also a clue. I wanted to ask if you could stay with us until we are well away from New Loran; I'm sure those ships would attack again if they saw you leave."

"Sure thing; we were only expecting to turn you around. If we'd known you were under attack we'd have brought more dragons" Hiccup admitted.

"Maybe someone should go back and tell your father what happened" Astrid noted "He might send us reinforcements."

"Good idea... but he would be very disappointed to hear you refer to him as 'My father'... and not... Dad."

"It's bad enough when Stoick gets like that... SO DON'T YOU START" Astrid huffed.

"Do you how beautiful you are when you're angry?"

"That explains why you're always PISSING ME OFF!"

"Watch your language Astrid" Hiccup smirked "There are sailors present."

* * *

Stoick was worried about the slow pace being made on the long march back to the Elydonian border, and he wished he still had his dragon so he could go and see how far the enemy was behind them.

"What's wrong Chief?" Kylan asked as she returned to the rear of the column.

"Oh... I'm just worried about the slow pace we're making; I wish I still had my dragon so I could go and see how far the enemy is behind us."

"We could always slow them down a bit" Kylan grinned.

Stoick liked the look of the smirk on Kylans face. It reminded him a little of Tuffnuts appetite for destruction, but with intelligence and cunning behind it.

"I don't know what you're planning in that scheming mind of yours... but I'm in."

* * *

From their vantage point high in the sky, Fishlegs and Meatlug could see the Elydonian forces marching slowly north from quite a long way off, but it was the smaller group half a mile behind them that drew his attention.

"Mr. Stoick sir!" one of the farmers in Kylans Special Delay Force called out as he threw another huge tree branch on the pile.

Stoick put down his axe and looked up to see what the man was pointing too.

"AHH... FISHLEGS" he declared as the happy Gronckle set down "Did you find the ships?"

"Yes Chief; they were under attack, but we helped drive off the enemy. They're on their way back to Port Yoric now, but Hiccup would like you to send some more Dragon Riders to help with the escort."

"Is it urgent lad; are they in danger?"

"Well... a bit" Fishlegs admitted "the Imperial Navy is keeping its distance for now, but they still outnumber us and the dragons have all reached their shot limit."

"So they'll need a few hours rest" Stoick pondered "I'll send Hiccup a few dragons as soon as they get back from the border, but what about Meatlug; has she got any fire left in her?"

"All I have to do is feed her some rocks, and she'll be hotter than Gobbers forge."

"Good... then give her some of the rocks on the side of the road, and then go and see how far away the troops are?"

"W-what t-troops?" Fishlegs shivered; he'd had quite enough of overwhelming forces for one lifetime.

"There are men and horses on their way here; that's why we've built this bonfire wall, all the way across the road from the forest edge on one side, to the ditch on the other."

"And you want me to take them on... by MYSELF?" the young man's voice cracked.

"No of course not; just find out their number, and how far..."

"STOICK!" Kylan called out as she climbed over the wooden pile "I can hear them in the distance... and they're getting close."

The Viking Chief bent over and picked up a few rocks.

"Alright then Fishlegs; forget all that and just feed your dragon."

As they fed the Meatlug the biggest stones they could find on the side of the road, Kylan called back her men an ordered them to return to the column as fast as their legs would carry them. The sound of horses, wagons and marching boots increased steadily with the passage of time until Kylan declared that she could see the enemy coming over a rise in the road.

"Time to light up the barrier" Stoick decided "Start a few Gronckle lava spot fires along the outside, then grab one of the Elydonians and fly him back to the others."

"Right Chief" Fishlegs nodded; flying off to carry out his orders."

"A horse can carry two as well Stoick" Kylan offered.

"Good; then you grab one of your men as well, and get out of here."

"Don't you want to..." she began.

"I'll stay with the rest of the men... protect their backs during the retreat."

"Of course you will" she smirked "I'll be back."

Stoick hurried along the road as the flames began to rise across the wall of wood. He saw Meatlug fly overhead before she and Fishlegs landed ahead of him to pick up one of the retreating allies. Glancing behind him, the Chief saw the first of the enemy soldiers making their way around the wall of fire; he could see they were finding it difficult to move with any speed across the rough ground and this made him smile. The New Loran force would have to take time to regroup on the northern side of the flaming barrier, putting more space between them and the Elydonians. If they did not regroup, they would not be able to attack as a large force making defence easier; either way Stoick looked at it, the fire wall was doing its job.

"COME ON YOU LOT; PICK UP THE PACE" he shouted at the men running in front of him.

Stoick now regretted sending all the dragons back to the border in one hit. Even though he did not know about the Imperial Force behind him at the time, he was mentally kicking himself for not being more cautious and only sending half at a time. A dragon with two riders is still better than no dragon at all. The allies ran on, desperate to put as much distance between them and their enemy as they could manage, when a new sound filled their ears; it was the sound of galloping horses.

They all looked back to see five cavalrymen had broken away from the main force, and were gaining rapidly on Stoick and his allies. They were too few to take on all of the Elydonian invaders, but they only wanted to chase down the fleeing saboteurs, and it appeared to Stoick that the pursuers just might pull it off.

* * *

**I am beginning to wonder if I am over using the running gag of making a statement, and then having a character say the exact same thing as dialogue. Then again... who cares; I love doing it ;-D**

**A short time ago, I had to stop writing while I had some eye ops; fortunately having my teeth done tomorrow won't slow me down much (but I may dribble a bit on the keyboard though).**


	38. Chapter 38

38 Show Me The Way To Go Home

"STOP RUNNING MEN" Stoick bellowed "FALL IN BEHIND ME, AND HOLD FAST."

The Viking Chief knew that if he and those with him kept running, they would soon be cut down one by one. But if they were to all face their enemy, then each one had a fighting chance and even if they failed, they would definitely take some of the Imperial Force with them. The Elydonians followed Stoicks orders almost to the letter but instead of standing behind the huge man with the giant axe, they all stood beside him.

The speeding horsemen kept their gaze low; each one was aware that the biggest individual threat to his personal health, was the heavily armed Viking in front of them. As the distance between them rapidly closed, Stoick and the Elydonians suddenly became aware of a dronish buzzing behind them and then much to the horsemen's surprise, Stoick gave up his tense battle stance; standing instead straight and casual. The enemy raised their swords in readiness to cut the Viking down but before they could strike, Meatlug swooped down from above and literally bounced between the first two soldiers sending the riderless dragon into a horizontal spin. The remaining horsemen did not stand a chance as the tail of the spinning Gronckle knocked them flying from their saddles and left them lying unconscious on the ground.

"GRAB A HORSE EVERYONE" Stoick ordered.

The Elydonians did not need to be told twice; without their riders, most of the horses slowed and were easily caught and the other two were soon chased down by the soldiers on their new equine assets. While some had to double up, a couple of men had a horse to themselves and Stoick of course, rode back on Meatlug.

"Fishlegs, you brilliant little hero" Stoick beamed on his arrival back at the retreating column "How did you train Meatlug to come straight to me?"

"Oh I've got drawings of almost everyone on Berk that I use to train her" the proud young man explained "that way I can send her to anyone who needs the kind of help only a dragon can provide; fast and efficiently."

"You'll have to teach me that method when we get home... and when I get another dragon" the Chief sighed as he remembered Viper; the dragon who had died saving him.

Fishlegs also bowed his head, but the brief silence was soon broken by the piercing call of a Monstrous Nightmare; they both looked up to see the dragons returning from the border.

"Hey Chief" Sigrid smiled as Skywolf set down "Where'd you get the horses?"

"Never mind that for now" Stoick declared "I need you to get back up there and tell Spitelout to take a third of the dragons down the road behind us. There's a whole heap of soldiers back there, and I need him to stop them."

"Right Chief" she turned to leave.

"WAIT... that's just the start. Tell Kara to take another third west to help Hiccup and the Elydonian Navy; Fishlegs can show them the way. Then tell Starkard to lead the rest and protect the column; there shouldn't be any more trouble, but I want the eyes of every Dragon Rider watching over us."

"I can leave Meatlug here for you... if you want Chief" Fishlegs offered.

"Thank you lad, but you take your dragon; I'll be alright. Now that Joric is back at the border, I can always catch a lift from Sigrid."

"Actually Stoick, Joric is leading at the front of the column" Sigrid admitted.

"WHAT... WHY?" Stoick boomed.

"You can blame yourself for that Chief" Sigrid grinned "He wants to model his leadership style on you... as much as he can get away with it."

"Why do I get the feeling that Elydonia is in big trouble?" a particularly cynical Viking declared as his dragon landed nearby.

"Oh Gobber" Stoick sighed "How can you say that I'm the one who causes unrest in the masses."

* * *

Kara landed Adelinde on the fire blackened deck of the Elydonian flagship and was greeted warmly by Hiccup, Astrid and Boron while Fishlegs lead the Berkian Air force out to relieve Snotlout and the twins.

"I see you're still being closely followed by enemy ships" she noted.

"But not for long" Astrid declared as some of the newly arrived dragons sent some choice warning shots down, almost on top of the Imperial Navy.

"Yeah... we'll soon see them off" Kara agreed before she noticed the man standing next to Hiccup.

"Hellooo... who do we have here?" she grinned.

"Kara, this is Boron; former king of Elydonia" Hiccup introduced him.

"Only for a few days" Boron smiled as he offered his hand.

"Hmm... roll up, roll up ye Berkian ladies; Elydonian kings all round methinks."

"What did she just...?" Boron asked.

"Don't worry about Kara" Astrid chuckled "She's never backward about being forward."

"Tell me, oh former king" Kara asked as she took Boron's arm and lead him away "have you ever taken a ride on a Deadly Nadder?"

"Is that how Sigrid and Joric..." Hiccup began.

"Nope... it was nothing like that" Astrid smiled.

* * *

Astrid prediction proved to be spot on correct as the Imperial ships soon saw the advantage in allowing the Elydonian vessels (and their dragon escort) to simply depart with no more hostilities while on the North Border Road, the commanders of the local garrison came to a similar conclusion when Spitelout's forces started bombing the road in front of them; making it quite clear what their fate would be if they decided to continue to follow the retreating army.

When the last of the weary marching mass finally crossed back into Elydonia several hours later, Sigrid finally managed to convince Joric to give command back to General Thurston and come with her on Skywolf. The rest of the Dragon Riders returned to Staggshund, while the King and Queen took a short side trip to Port Yoric; just to let Sigfus know that all was well. The only thing left to do was to strengthen the southern border of Elydonia against possible reprisal from the New Loran Empire. All members of the invasion force who hailed from Staggshund, were instantly given special leave to return with the Dragon Riders and prepare for an evening feast, so a few riders did a little impromptu hunting on the way and picked up some wild boars in the forests.

The celebration had already started for Gobber and Mulch by the time Hiccup and his friends arrived; while everyone else was setting up a camp site in a large field on the southeast side of town, the two older men were already enjoying an Elydonian beer and making up songs about their adventure. The aroma of roasting beef and boar filled his nostrils as the Dragon Master began to truly relax for the first time since he had left Berk; his colleagues and allies were safe, and Astrid was by his side once again.

"Yak for your thoughts?" Astrid asked as he watched the commotion going on around them.

"Oh... I was just thinking."

"Well duh, I can see that; but what about."

"It's hard..." he stopped for a moment before finally admitting "it's hard to talk about."

"Walk with me" Astrid almost ordered as she took his arm and led him slowly away from the crowd and through the village.

Townsfolk carrying chairs and bowls of food to the campsite, greeted them cheerfully as they wandered by; the people of Staggshund were looking forward to another Viking style feast. It did not take Hiccup very long to realise that Astrid had not said anything since they had left the field, but she seemed to know precisely where she was taking him, and he felt both incredibly happy and relieved just to be with her in this home away from home. Staggshund may be the first place where he had led his people into battle, but these days it was a place of comfort and friendship where a Dragon Rider could simply arrive at any time of the day or night, confident that he or she would find food, shelter and peace for both rider and dragon. The citizens of this little farming community felt a certain pride that they had fought alongside their true King, as well as the Dragon Riders of Berk, at a time when their land could have easily slipped from the hands of one tyrant, into the hands of several others; and they loved to regale any passing travellers with slightly embellished stories of their adventures. Now some of the citizens had new stories to tell of this day; when they had taken part in a successful journey through foreign territory to rescue the King and Queen, along with the Chief of the Dragon Riders, from the clutches of the evil Emperor Scias. They would tell of building a burning wall, higher than the tallest tree to thwart the enemy's advance, and of their narrow escape under the leadership of none other than the gigantic Viking chief himself; who was so strong, he could lift a horse on each arm at the same time. They love to tell of how Stoick had personally asked for the men of Staggshund to assist him, and of how they had not abandoned him when fifty horsemen had almost overrun them during their escape. The exaggeration did not really matter; it just made the stories more exciting.

At last the young lovers exited the western end of the village to where the Battle of Staggshund had taken place, and there stood the monolith that Astrid had wanted Hiccup to see.

"You know what this is... don't you" she said firmly.

"The memorial... one of the reasons you all came on this trip" Hiccup nodded.

"Do you see Ivar's name?" Astrid asked.

Starting at the top, Hiccup began to scan the list of over a hundred names, but soon noticed that they were in alphabetical order, so he quickly moved to the I's and found what he was looking for.

"And what about Pigg?" she added, and her words instantly sent Hiccup gaze down to the P's.

"Everyone who died in the battle is on that one, single list" Astrid went on "Joric insisted that they not be separated into groups; so even those who fought against him, including the ones who were going to shoot you down... the ones... I killed, are there with their countrymen. Do you know why he did that Hiccup?"

"So that in the future, nobody could use this list to work out whose side anyone was on" Hiccup declared.

"Exactly" Astrid nodded "He wants his country to stay united, and not to have some families looked down upon or persecuted just because one of their members was on the wrong side of a short lived civil war."

Hiccup smiled to himself as he squeezed Astrid's hand. She knew exactly what he had been thinking about; she knew him so well.

"You were right about what you said... when I was upset about Little Freya" Astrid added "so when you get worried about anything like that... just remember this list... and remember that we are all in this together. Not just you and me, not just the Dragon Riders... but all of us."

Hiccup turned to gaze at her and was soon lost in her eyes "Have I told you lately?"

"Told me what?" she asked as she put her hand on the side of his face.

"How much I love you" Hiccup whispered as he kissed her.

* * *

**On the home stretch now; two more chapters and an epilogue.**


	39. Chapter 39

**Sorry if this chapter upsets anyone, but it starts off a bit weird and gory (just a bit)... did I mention weird? That may be a bit of an understatement.**

* * *

39 I Will Win Your Heart  
(or die trying)

It was not every day that she was visited by a suitor, but having recently reached sexual maturity it was something she had been expecting; it was just a little surprising that there was more than one of them.

The first of the suitors approached her in a very normal and usual way. He made his presence known, as well as his intentions, when he started to dance. Even though she had no experience with the movements he made, she did find them quite impressive; they showed him to be strong, fit and healthy as well as very intelligent and coordinated. As the dance went on she began to feel quite impressed and had almost decided to allow him to approach her, when suddenly a second suitor appeared.

At first she was not pleased by this unwelcome interruption, particularly because this new arrival looked so scruffy, and did not act in the prescribed manor at all. He was not naked, like the impressive dancer, but was wearing what appeared to be armour made from the shell of a beetle, with a dragonfly skull for a helmet. Secondly, he did not try to impress her at all but simply marched onto her web and went up to the first suitor. The impressive dancer was not very pleased by the intruder either, and showed his displeasure by raising his front legs and extending his fangs. What the brash second suitor did next truly surprised her, but not as much as it surprised the impressive dancer; he reached inside his armour, and pulled out a small metal pin that he brandished like a sword... and killed the first suitor.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR" she yelled "I WAS GOING TO MATE WITH HIM!"

"Then what?" Dylan asked; his question threw her a bit.

"Err... huh? Well... I was going to eat him I guess" she replied.

"Here you go" Dylan threw the dead spider over to her before he replaced his sword "chow down with my compliments."

Not knowing what the etiquette was in this strange circumstance, she began to wrap the first suitor in silk for later consumption.

"So after you had mated and eaten him, what were you going to do next?"

"Oh... you know... the usual stuff; make an egg sac, fill it with eggs and then just sit here growing weaker till the kids hatched and devoured me."

"Doesn't sound like much fun to me" Dylan declared.

"What do you mean fun?" she sneered (I'll bet you didn't know spiders could sneer) "We're spiders; we don't have fun. We hatch, we feed, we grow, we procreate and we die; that's it!"

"Not for me" Dylan smiled and she was surprised to see his eyebrows going up and down.

"Why... what have you been up too; and where did you get those eyebrows?"

"I have been travelling far and wide on my dragon, for I am more than just a spider; I... am a Viking."

"And I'm the Queen of Elydonia" the lady spider huffed.

"No you're not; Sigrid is... and she is a member of my tribe too."

"You're serious aren't you?"

"Very! I grew up in this very tower; my dragon would occasionally visit to show those... non-Vikings down there, who was the boss. That was until about eight months ago when Astrid, Chief Stoicks daughter in law... almost, was locked up here. She was the first person I had ever come across who was not afraid of the dragon and so I decided to go with her. It was plain to see that this was my destiny; I was to join the Dragon Riders and be a Viking.

"So where is this dragon then?" she asked suspiciously.

"Snotlout borrowed him and didn't bring him back... the rotten little turkey."

"A turkey named Snot-lot borrowed you dragon?" her doubts about this weirdo were growing by the minute.

"No... he's a Viking... and his name was Snotlout; he just acts like a turkey sometimes."

"What do you mean... he runs around a farm, flapping his wings and shouting 'Gobble gobble gobble'?"

"NO! I mean he can be... a bit of a selfish idiot... sometimes."

"I don't know about the selfish part, but I'm beginning to suspect that you might be a bit like this Snot-snot yourself.

"Snotlout" Dylan corrected.

"Whatever."

* * *

"WE STAND HERE TODAY... ENJOYING THIS FEAST" King Joric declared to all present "LARGELY BECAUSE OF THE SACRIFICE MADE BY THOSE WHO WILL NEVER PARTAKE OF THIS KIND OF CELEBRATION... EVER AGAIN."

With the help of Toki and some of his shipmates, Sigrid had compiled a list of every one of the allies, who had lost their life, from the time of the first surprise night attack from General Karoc, to their final exit from New Loan and at the end of the Kings speech, Stoick read out each one. Viking, dragon, sailor and spy were all included and as each one was read, a single roaring cheer was given by the crowd as their beer mugs were raised.

"Far too many brave souls have been taken from us" Stoick concluded after he had finished the list "May we all live lives worthy of the sacrifices they have made, so their deaths would not be in vain."

"HERE HERE!" the crowd declared emphatically.

Later in the evening as the feast wound down, Joric stepped over another Viking who had passed out in the middle of the field, and managed to fall down without spilling a drop of his drink. He made his way to where his beloved wife sat with some of her friends reminiscing of all their adventures, as well as discussing the future.

"Do you mind if I interrupt" he asked with a smile "I need to talk to the most beautiful Viking who ever lived."

"I'll try not to take that personally" Kara noted as Astrid nodded in agreement; needless to say when Hiccup smirked, she hit him."

"Well alright then" Gobber declared as he rose "let's take a walk Joric, so we can have some privacy."

"I think he was talking to me Gobber" Sigrid giggled.

"Well well well; don't we have a high opinion of ourselves" the blacksmith huffed.

"I was thinking about something I said earlier today; about banning you from riding your dragon till the baby is born" Joric admitted as he sat next to his expectant wife."

"You weren't serious were you?" Sigrid asked suspiciously.

"As if I could stop you doing anything" Joric smiled "especially something you love so much, but I am worried, so I couldn't think of anything better to do than to ask the people who have all the experience and the answers. What is it like when a Dragon Rider is having a baby? I know some of your friends have children so I assume nothing would change after the birth, but what about..."

He stopped suddenly when he noticed some of the Berkian women looking at each other, almost guiltily.

"Do you think I said something wrong?" he whispered to Kylan.

"How should I know; I'm not a Dragon Rider... and besides... if you hadn't asked, I was certainly going to."

"You didn't say anything wrong Pumpkin" Sigrid admitted as the others tried to hold back their laughter... and failed.

"Please don't call me Pumpkin in front of the Vikings" Joric asked as he turned bright red.

"Well... the fact is" Big Freya admitted "that Sigrid is the first pregnancy we've had since the end of the Dragon War so... it's rather new to us too."

"But we've got three hundred years of experience having children while being attacked by dragons, so this should... be..." Kara suddenly wondered if she was saying the wrong thing for the situation.

"Listen Joric, try not to worry too much" Astrid comforted the concerned father "Everything will work out okay and besides, Hiccup and I are taking a little trip west in the morning to get someone who can help Sigrid with her dragon, after we have all gone back home to Berk."

"We are?" Hiccup asked.

"Yes!" Astrid declared adamantly.

Hiccup looked at Joric and nodded "We are" he nodded.

* * *

With her morning farm chores almost done, Dianta was beginning to think about how good breakfast was going to taste this morning. While her father had been on leave from the Royal Elydonian Navy, he had been doing a lot of work on the farm so her mother had decided that it was time Dianta got in some practice with her cooking. But yesterday Gauk had departed for Bolthorn Castle to report for duty once more; this meant that Dianta had to spend more of her time helping her uncle Horry on the farm so her mother, who was a much better cook, would have to prepare the morning meal. As she closed the gate of the west valley field behind her, the excited voice of Rowan her younger brother, drifted into her ears from the direction of the farmhouse. Like most girls in their mid teens, Dianta found her younger brother to be more than just a little annoying. He was always underfoot, occasionally played tricks on her, and was generally a pain. During the time she had spent with the Dragon Riders the previous year, Dianta had come to learn that the world did not revolve around her as she had once believed. She had come to understand all the things her family had done for her; things that in the past had seemed so trivial. She still longed for the day when she could leave the farm, but now she waited patiently and got on with her work, instead of making it her life goal to make everyone else suffer for all the things she wanted, but did not have.

"Hello Rowan" she smiled at the exhausted boy as he ran up to her "What's got you all worked up this morning?"

"Dragons... are here..." he panted.

Dianta's smile broadened at the thought of seeing her friends again, but she resisted the urge to run off and leave Rowan gasping for air.

"That's wonderful news" she beamed "Come on then; I'll give you a lift."

She knelt down onto one knee as her brother climbed on her back.

"Not so tight" she protested "you're chocking me."

"Sorry Dianta" Rowan declared sincerely as he released the death grip he had on her neck.

"And I know what you're like after you've run yourself ragged; so if you feel sick, for heaven's sake give me some warning."

Seeing Toothless and Stormfly resting under a tree after the long walk back, made her feel like the butterflies in her stomach were doing acrobatics, while dancing the Macarena. She knew Rowan had been telling the truth about their arrival because if he had been trying to trick her as a joke, he would not have exhausted himself running to find her; he would have sauntered along before pretending to be excited later. None the less, the sight of the two dragons made her drop her brother back onto his feet, and run.

"Race you to the door" she laughed.

"HEY; that's not fair" he whined before realising that he was now rested, whereas his sister had just walked over half a mile with his dead weight on her back.

He managed to catch up with her (she let him win) and they burst through the front door almost simultaneously, finding two familiar faces sitting with Karin, their mother.

"Astrid; Hiccup!" she continued beaming as she rushed into their arms and kissed each one on the cheek.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming to visit me this time."

"We almost didn't" Astrid admitted.

"Not because we didn't want to" Hiccup added "but because we've just gotten back from another little adventure in New Loran."

"LITTLE?" Astrid glanced at Hiccup sideways "I'd hate to see what you think is a major incident then."

* * *

**I'm beginning to wonder if it was such a good idea to do such a big part of this chapter from a spider's point of view (by the way... 41 is all spider).**


	40. Chapter 40

**Well... here it is folks; the last real chapter (there will be an odd little epilogue in a few days). I am up to chapter 4 of my first non-HTTYD book and intend to work on it for the next month, but I hope to be back with a short story or two around september to october. Feel free to keep in touch, Marty &amp; Moon =^..^=**

* * *

40 Ye Tortures

"So then... how long can you stay?" Dianta asked the Dragon Riders sitting in her front room.

"Oh we're not staying" Astrid smirked as she looked down by the front door and gestured with her head.

Dianta turned to see what her friend was trying to tell her, and saw that her mother had packed her a rucksack.

"Am I going too? She gasped before getting a little suspicious "Wait a minute... do you need a dragon sitter again?"

"Not exactly" Hiccup admitted "Did you know that Queen Sigrid is going to have a baby?"

"Yes... we all do" she nodded as she sat down on the couch "Messengers have been sent out over the entire country with the good news."

"Well she is going to need an official Dragon Keeper in the Royal Stables; someone who can take Skywolf out and keep him happy during the later part of her pregnancy."

"me?" Dianta squeaked.

"Do you want the job?" Astrid asked.

"But what about the farm? With Dad back in the navy..."

"Don't you worry about that" her mother smiled "we'll manage and besides, this is an official position; you'll be earning a proper wage... just like your father."

"So... so I'm moving to Bolthorn Castle... NOW?"

"Oh it's even better than that" Hiccup smiled "You'll return to Berk with us for a month..."

"Maybe two" Astrid corrected.

"Or two, for some intensive training... with your very own dragon."

"eep!" she squeaked again.

"That's not fair" Rowan whined "how come she gets her own dragon and I don't?"

"Well because she has shown herself to be responsible and mature" Karin declared.

"And who said she would come back with only one dragon?" Astrid hinted.

"Err... What?" Hiccup questioned Astrid's judgment.

"But you young man, have not had any dragon training" Astrid continued "and the only person with enough experience in Elydonia, and with time to train you, would be your sister. So tell me Rowan; could you listen to her and treat her with the proper respect due to the Royal Dragon Keeper of Bolthorn Castle, or would that be too much for me to expect of a seven year old?"

"Actually, he's eight now" Karin noted.

"NINE NEXT MONTH" Rowan protested.

"Well we will have to see what kind of a nine year old you turn out to be" Astrid sounded stern "I'll try and talk Chief Stoick into letting us bring back two dragons when we return, but remember; you'll still be living on the farm, and if your mother tells us that you're not ready... we'll take it back with us when we leave."

"She's not joking either" Dianta nodded "Don't forget they left me behind for the same reason."

"What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Nothing major dear" Karin smiled "but not crying 'IT'S NOT FAIR' all the time would be a good start."

A few minutes later, when Dianta and her mother had finally finished saying goodbye (i.e. crying), the newest Dragon Rider stood waiting next to Stormfly.

"Well... what are you waiting for?" Astrid asked.

"Don't you want to get on first? Dianta asked.

"Oh I'm not going on Stormfly; HERE BOY!" she shouted and gave a loud whistle.

Karin and her children all jumped when a large part of the tree they stood near, suddenly changed colours and dropped down next to Astrid.

"Oh that's right" Hiccup realised "You've never seen a Changewing before, have you?"

"A... a Change... wing?" Dianta stuttered "Does that mean... you're giving Stormfly... to ME?"

"WHAT!?" Astrid was startled "NO WAY."

"All this means is you'll be riding Stormfly back to Staggshund, and then on to Bolthorn" Hiccup informed her "Astrid and I are going on a very special mission tonight that will require the use of Ghosts... unique camouflage abilities."

"AND I WANT MY DRAGON BACK WHEN WE'RE DONE" Astrid gritted her teeth.

"Of course" Dianta agreed as she petted the purring Nadder "No one would ever give up a beautiful dragon like you, would they girl? I don't suppose I could have a Nadder too, could I?"

"Can't promise for sure" Hiccup confessed "but we'll see what we can do."

* * *

The door creaked softly as it swung slowly open; the man behind it was just too tired to move beyond a shuffle. It was a big enough job to run a country, but an empire took things to a whole new level, so he had just given orders that he was not to be disturbed for at least six hours; during which he planned to be mostly unconscious. He moved over toward the soft bed, his candle giving just enough illumination to light his path.

"Good evening Borges" a low threatening voice emitted from the shadows of the lonely room.

The sudden shock hit so hard, that he dropped the candle. It extinguished before it struck the floor and the room was plunged back into total darkness, but only briefly; soon a soft blue light began to fill the room.

"Oh n-no" the man shivered as he saw the light came from the opening mouth of a black dragon.

Two men stood either side of the beast; the shorter had his hand on the back of the dragon's head, while the taller one stepped menacingly closer.

"Don't worry Borges" the tall man suggested "we only want to talk... and I think it would be good for you to hear precisely what we have to..."

As King Joric drew nearer to the timid man, something struck him as very wrong.

"Wait a minute... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?"

* * *

High up on the ruins of the tower, Astrid sat with Ghost watching over the New Loran Capital. The dragon resisted the urge to roar loudly, just like he used to do back when he lived in the area. Astrid wanted him to be quiet, and Ghost wanted Astrid to be happy with him. It had been very frustrating for the proud Changewing to find he had lost the ability to understand his friend's words, but that ability returned soon after they had landed on the tower; he did not know how or why, but he would never take that skill for granted again.

"I... I just don't... I just don't believe it; everything you said... it's all true."

"I am a Viking warrior" Dylan smirked "I may embellish, distort, misrepresent, fabricate, deceive, misstate and exaggerate... but I would never lie."

"So... that girl... is the Snot-Turkey?" she asked.

"Defiantly not" Dylan corrected "That is Astrid who, along with Hiccup, is one of the future leaders of the tribe. Just as it was typical behaviour for Snotlout to take my dragon, it is just like Astrid to bring him back to me."

Dylan stared at the spider in front of him and pondered her for a moment.

"You need a name; a noble name... like Astrids."

"Why would a spider need a name?" she asked just as she realised "Wait a minute... you've got one... haven't you?"

"Yes indeed" he said proudly "My name... is Dylan!"

Biological scientists the world over, would pay large sums of money for film, video, or a sound recording of what came next; one of the few examples in all history of... a spider laughing.

"When you've quite finished" Dylan huffed "I have decided to give you a similar name to that of the late wife of Chief Stoick; you shall be called... Valkyrie."

"Valkyrie?" she stopped laughing and her eyes widened (all eight of them); she liked the sound of that name.

"Now that has been settled" Dylan noted "it's time for us to go."

"GO, go where?"

"Back to Berk of course... on my dragon."

"ARE YOU SERIOUS!?" for the first time in her short life, she was truly frightened.

* * *

"D-don't hurt me... please."

"I won't hurt you... if you cooperate" Joric threatened "NOW WHERE'S Borges?"

"Emperor Borges is dead sir" the shivering man informed them "I am the temporary interim prime magistrate in charge of emergency government administration with special powers of compulsory oversight."

"You're what?"

"I'm the boss... for the next few days at least."

Hiccup saw that things were no longer going to plan, so he hurried over to the door and locked it.

"So what happened to Borges?" Joric enquired.

"He err... had an accident... with a sword... or two... and a balcony. He arrived here several hours ago in the Imperial Coach declaring that you had killed Emperor Scias and that he was taking over, but the soldiers you released outside the city had already told us that you claimed it was Borges himself who killed Scias."

"I only know that I didn't kill Scias, and I left him alive with Borges" Joric declared.

"You have to understand the mood of the powerful people in New Loran" the magistrate informed them "For many years, they were all happy, rich and getting richer because of Scias's obsession with Gryphons, Dragons and other mythical creatures. He just kept expanding the empire, over taxing the conquered lands and as a result, we all had it good; but then... the real dragons appeared and everything changed."

"And not for the better I assume" Joric nodded.

"No; Scias started spending all incoming wealth on building up the navy with intentions of getting all the dragons for himself, and err... well you know how that turned out."

"So what happened with Borges?" Hiccup asked.

"He arrived with stories of the evil Elydonians, and Scias's final command to build up our forces in order to conquer you; all this after the dragons had caused so much havoc in the city, at the naval port and at sea... so we've decided that we have a new opportunity here... and the only person in our way is... or should I say was, Borges."

"Hence the swords" Joric noted.

"And the balcony" Hiccup added.

"Precisely" the magistrate agreed "I know you have no reason to trust me... but we've got a plan... and I think you'll like it."

"I'm listening" Joric hinted.

"Okay... let's get down to business; I assume you came here to give Borges some kind of ultimatum not to invade Elydonia. If you'd wanted him dead, I never would have made it to the centre of the room alive."

"Go on."

"You are not the only one who feels threatened by the empire, and that puts New Loran in constant danger on both sides; attack from without and mutiny from within. In fact our biggest threat is from the lands we have already conquered. So now we have this great opportunity to send ambassadors everywhere, and tell everyone that it was all Scias's fault... who is now dead... and the next tyrant has been overthrown before he had the chance to cause any trouble."

"So you intend to disband the empire?" Joric was surprised at this development.

"Not so much... more sort of change it into a united commonwealth of independent countries. It gives their leaders the chance to go from being nothing more than local governors, to being kings, presidents or prime ministers without an uprising... and who wouldn't want that."

"And you think you can pull this off?"

"We hope so; you have to remember that although the last year has been nothing but a downhill slide for us here in New Loran, we are still very rich. So if we send out our ambassadors on ships filled with supplies, and a bit of gold for the leaders" the magistrate smirked "we should be able to win them over."

"So what do we do now?" Hiccup asked.

"We leave I suppose" Joric replied "But don't forget Mr. Temporary interim prime magistrate in charge of emergency government administration with special powers of compulsory oversight..."

"Please... call me Bob."

"Well... Bob... if we see any armed forces approaching by land, or by sea... my wife has a dragon... and it's bigger than this one."

"I-I swear to you... all you will see anywhere near your borders, is a Diplomatic Party."

"And they will be most welcome" King Joric smiled and patted the magistrates shoulder.

* * *

"No movement down in the courtyard" Astrid informed Hiccup as he, Joric and Toothless arrived on top of the tower "so I think we've gotten away with it. Well... how did it go?"

"I... that is... we... umm."

"Stop mumbling Hiccup and tell me; did you convince Borges not to move against Elydonia?"

"We didn't have to... Borges is dead."

"Dead?" she was taken aback "So who's in charge now?"

"Bob" Hiccup informed her.

"Bob? Okay... so what does that mean?"

"To tell you the truth" Joric admitted "I'm not sure... but hopefully we'll find out more when the Ambassador arrives at the border."

"What Ambassador?" Astrid asked as Toothless flew off again "WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON AROUND HERE?"

* * *

" I don't believe it... I'm sitting on a dragon's head... and We're FLYING!"

"Great, isn't it?" Dylan could not stop grinning.

"If I was wearing pants, I need to change them" Valkyrie admitted "and how come I know what pant's are anyway?"

"I don't understand how it works exactly, but everything I know, you will know too" Dylan informed her.

"So my head will fill up with rubbish about snotty turkeys, legged fish and stuff like that?"

"And so much more my dear... much, much more."

"Oh... I can hardly wait" Valkyrie sighed; wishing she'd given this a bit more thought before jumping in so far out of her depth.

* * *

"So... we're just going to leave New Loran and hope for the best?" Astrid asked after all had been explained to her.

"I don't see that we have much choice" Joric admitted "I don't have the right to tell them what to do... and they appear to be on a good track."

"You were going to tell Borges what he should do" Astrid accused the King.

"Not really; I was only going to threaten him personally if he should send his armed forces into Elydonia" Joric corrected "Rulers like him only want to risk other people's lives and not their own."

"And what if this new Commonwealth of Nations decides to gang up on you?" Hiccup asked.

"No one said we couldn't send out our own ambassadors" Joric grinned "And when the Elydonian Ambassador is accompanied by a member of the Royal Family riding a dragon, I think negotiations will go the way we desire."

Although they were not sure if it would all work out quite as Joric hoped, Hiccup and Astrid had other thoughts on their minds; one was to get home and start the training of the Royal Elydonian Dragon Keeper, but their biggest thought was simply to spend as much time as they could wrangle, lying in each other arms once again; Berk was calling them home.

* * *

**The title of this final chapter may have been another one of Spike Milligan's epic poems, but I like to think of it as a note Emperor Borges was planning to send to his Chief Interrogator down in the dungeons before his... accident... with the swords... and the balcony.**

**These words should not merely be read, but recited in a voice dripping with malice and evil (like the witches from Macbeth... or Nixon from Futurama).**

**Thanks to everyone for reading this story, and especially to Midoriko-sama, fanfic71, Sarnakh the Sunderer, Stripesides222 and biancaruth for your reviews and messages; you've all kept me going... daily.**

* * *

**YE LISTE OF TORTURES**

**Bluned on ye Grunions  
and krelled on his Grotts  
Ye legges will be twergled  
and pulled thru' ye motts!**

**His Nukes will be Fongled  
split thrice on yon Thulls  
Then laid on ye Quottle  
and hung by ye Bhuls!**

**Twice thocked on the Phneflic,  
Yea broggled thrice twee.  
Ye moggs wiIl be grendled  
and stretched six foot three!**

**By now, if ye victim  
show not ye sorrow,  
Send him home. Tell him,  
"Come back to-morrow" (cackling laugh).**

* * *

**This is also the fate of all those who didn't review this story (Moon is sharpening his claws as we speak... on my leg).**


	41. Chapter 41

41 A Day At The Races - Epilogue

Late October on Berk can be a very cold once the sun sets, but there were still many places to keep warm; one of Valkyrie's favourite spots was in a high corner at the rear of the Great Hall. The warmth from the fire felt so good on her tired old body, and she was pleased she could spend her last days in such comfort. It was uncommon for a spider like her to come anywhere near to her first birthday, and she had celebrated hers over a month ago. Her life on Berk had been one filled with more joy than any spider had ever known before. Dylan had been true to his word and been a wonderful husband, father and good provider from the day they first arrived on Berk; they had spent several happy months together before his passing and she still missed him terribly.

Something that still brought joy to her on a daily basis, was when one or more of her children would visit. 73 and 237 lived on a cross beam not far from her, but there were another twelve still living and hunting in the Great Hall while the rest were spread out all over the village and in the forests of Berk.

"Hi Mom; how you felling tonight?" 508 asked as he wandered across her web.

She knew it was wrong to have favourites amongst her children, but 508 was a special case. He lived in the dragon stables and would often bring her news of what had been going on in the village, as well as the latest results from the Dragon Races. How he found the time to come and see her almost every day was a mystery and, just like his father before him, he always brought her a little something.

"Tired, but well" she answered his question "What's that you're carrying?"

"This? Oh... it's nothing; just a couple of spare flies I caught near the Gronckle pens. There are so many in there, I thought I'd bring some over; here you go Mom... chow down."

There was another reason she enjoyed 508's company so much; even the words he used reminded her of Dylan. She gratefully accepted his gift and took them to the centre of her web as 508 started doing some minor repairs on the lower left side.

"Now you stop that" Valkyrie scolded him "you always spend most of your time here fixing my web; you must think I'm old."

"You are old Mom" 508 grinned "but I still love you. You know what I'm like; I get fidgety if I sit still for more than a minute."

"You're a good boy" she smiled proudly "So... did anything interesting happen today?"

"I'll say; it was the final of the summer racing season. Ruff and Tuff took out the first leg, but Astrid blitzed the twilight race."

"So who was on top of the season leader board?" she asked.

"Who do you think?" 508 raised his eyebrows (he really did take after his father).

"Hiccup" they both declared simultaneously.

"Snotlout is demanding they introduce a handicap system next year; he says Toothless needs to carry a bag of rocks in his saddle, just to even things up a bit."

"Well I suppose that's fair; Snotlout has a whole head full of rocks weighing him down" Valkyrie smirked.

"Oh Mom" 508 laughed "you got me again."

"So that's all the big news for today?"

"Yup... apart from the feast that will be going on here tonight."

"What's the occasion this time?" Valkyrie asked "Or are they just celebrating Tuesday again?"

"It's a farewell dinner for Dianta; she's heading back to Elydonia tomorrow."

"Ah... so her training is finished at last; she was only supposed to stay for a few months."

"I'm not sure if it was the training that took so long, or just the fact that she liked it here so much" 508 noted.

"Which dragon is she taking back with her?"

"Dragons Mom; she taking Adelinde for herself and a Hobblegrunt named Thorntail for her brother."

"I thought Adelinde was Kara's Nadder" Valkyrie wondered.

"No... Kara just rode her on the last trip to Elydonia."

"I assume Hiccup and Astrid taking Dianta back home?"

"No again; Kara's taking her because she wants to winter with Sigrid."

"Kara's going because she wants to see Boron again" Valkyrie smirked.

"Many of the other Berkian women are planning to head down to Elydonia when Sigrids baby is due. I wouldn't be surprised if Hiccup tags along then too" 508 noted "I can't see him wanting to let Astrid go on another long journey without him again so soon."

"Ah... young love."

"I miss him too" 508 noticed the longing look on his mothers face.

"What was that?"

"You were thinking about Dad again weren't you?"

"Guilty as charged. Well... I guess I won't get much sleep tonight" Valkyrie declared as the Vikings down below began roasting an entire yak as well as two sheep.

"Do you want me to sit up with you?"

"No thank you dear" she smiled "You go home and see if you've got any more of those fat, tasty flies in your web; I bet you really brought me the last two you had."

"Don't worry about me Mom; there are always lots more in the Gronckle pen."

Valkyrie watched 508 walk across the beam on his way back to the stables and she saw him wave to73 as he passed by. When he was out of sight, she took one of the flies he had brought her and climbed to the highest part of the web near the corner of the ceiling. There was a little hole in the wood nearby and sitting in that hole, was a helmet made from the skull of a dragonfly.

"You raised him well... Thank you" she said... and blew it a kiss.

* * *

**And so another story comes to a close. Feels satisfying but it always makes me feel a little sad too. Other tales are in the works (including a colaboration with Stripesides) and don't forget to look for my original story on FictionPress. Its about Mars (how appropriate hmm?).**

**Bye bye for now and God bless, Marty :-D**


	42. Chapter 42

Sorry everyone but this is not an addition to the story. I am just writing to inform all those who enjoyed reading the author notes about Moon, that he died today (11th of June 2016) of kidney failure.

I always liked to think he was the world's most famous cat never to appear on YouTube and his constant demands for attention were a great inspiration for some of my writings.

Moon was the first pet I was able to choose for myself and he caught my eye in an interesting way. All the other cats at the Animal Welfare League would either cry at the door of their cage to be let out, or hide at the back, terrirfied of the world around them. Moon however sat in the center of his cage with a look that said "I don't need to cope with life, life has to cope with me."

I looked at him and said "Hello cat."

He turned his head to look back at me and then just flopped over onto his side purring. That was when I knew he was the cat for me and for the next six years he would expect nothing more than a regular supply of tender fishy chunks and lots of head scraching and in return, he would follow me everywhere, even on long walks along a dis-used railway line, as a constant companion.

I will miss the fuzzy little turkey.

Hope to complete some current stories and publish again soon,  
Marty.


End file.
